The Raid
by Vostok2142
Summary: The Mission was to guard a train shipment, to carry a vital package for the higher ups in Atlas. What would have been a simple mission turns into a nightmare for team RWBY, JNPR and CRDL. M For Violence and Language. Mainly action oriented. Other themes if you squint. Post-Breach.
1. Chapter 1

**Aftermath**

Tick.  
>Tock.<br>Tick.  
>Tock.<br>Tick.

The ticking of the multiple cogs echoed up the hollowed tower. The endless array of cogs, nuts and bolts was built masterfully into the structure, stretching into what seems like gateway that led to the sky. The view would normally leave the guests staring in awe at such a complex yet graceful display of engineering, did not yield a single praise from the three students who had just entered. To them, it just seems like an endless tunnel, a gaping maw with metal teeth slowly descending upon the occupants below.

A primal fear engulfed one of the members below. Although he made no show of it, he had subconsciously bared his teeth in a silent snarl, a challenge against his cowardice. The eternal ticking of the mechanism did little to ease the tension, each rotation sending a groan or a rumble through the already brittle atmosphere. All the occupants of the room, save for one, stood ready. Their bodies semi crouched and coiled like a spring, ready to leap into action at the briefest hint of danger.

They stood at irregular intervals, not bothering to form a line. One had chosen to hang back near the door, as if watching for any thing that might burst through. Two of them are leaders of their assigned team. One is a temporary replacement.

None of the teams escaped unscathed.

The blond boy, Jaune Arc, leader of Team JNPR, had always been a shy person, his lack of confidence covered up by a false front that was easily shattered. Weiss Schnee, and Cardin Winchester carried themselves with arrogance and confidence that betrayed fine breeding, although the aura of perfection Schnee possessed was not the same as the authority emitted by Winchester.

However now, an unremitting intensity radiates off Jaune Arc, a constant state of readiness. Any air of arrogance was gone from Weiss Schnee. Now she seemed subdued and uncertain. Her natural paleness and snow white hair made the girl look even more fragile than she previously was. Perhaps the absence of team RWBY's usual leader had affected her much greater than anticipated. Yet her cold blue eyes were alert and focused, burning with the fires that should not be seen in a child.

The promise of violence and hate now shrouded Cardin Winchester, ready to be unleashed at the moment's notice. His large frame further emphasized the air of brutality, and his normally well kept brown hair was now messy and unkempt. Team CRDL had suffered a huge blow from the mission, arguably the worst.

It was chastening to see children so changed by one failure. Ozpin regretted sending these children on that mission. Unexpected as it was, they had handled the situation remarkably. He felt pride towards his students, for they have performed exceptionally.

But at what cost?

'Arc, Schnee, Winchester.' Ozpin acknowledged their presence. He gestured to the three seats arranged in front of his ornate desk, 'Please, sit.'

Awkwardly, two students did as they were told. The situation did not suit them. While the students had changed back to their uniforms, their hands fell subconsciously to where their weapons would be. Cardin refused to sit at all, choosing to stand, his eyes darting to the entrance every few seconds.

'I have read the reports provided by each of you, and you have all done remarkably under the circumstances given.' Ozpin stated, his voice level as he leaned forward.

When the boys did not reply, Weiss spoke up, her voice barely a whisper, 'We failed.'

Ozpin nodded, 'True, though currently unimportant. Come, tell me what happened. I'll send for refreshments.'

'There is no need, sir.'

'Very well. I want to talk to the students that have sacrificed so much for such an important mission. It was unfair that the White Fang were involved, no one saw that coming.'

Cardin growled, his face twisting into a mask of rage. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it.

'Cardin…' Jaune hissed.

Ozpin held up a hand 'It's alright. Speak your mind, Winchester.'

Cardin hesitated.

'Was it worth it? Your students…our friends…was it worth it, _Headmaster?_' Cardin spat out Ozpin's title. 'This was _your_ fault.'

'Cardin!' This time, Jaune shouted, standing up from his seat, 'Respect-'

'To hell with respect!' Cardin roared, turning to face Jaune as he advanced him, his fists balled and shaking. 'We lost people today and you expect me to respect the man who sent them to die?'

'Calm yourself, Cardin!' Weiss had bolted up from her seat, and was pushing Cardin back, attempting to restrain him. The vast size and strength difference between the pair was almost laughable, but it was enough for Cardin to snap out of his anger.

He looked away in shame, and stepped back, cursing under his breath. He dropped himself into a seat, and the others slowly followed suit.

Ozpin sighed. The young man's question was one he had not hoped to answer.

The Mission had gone wrong, despite Ozpin's careful calculation. While the White Fang was an unexpected development, the chances were good. However chance was something that is never set in stone. The package was taken, and there will be dire consequences. A team will have to be sent out to hunt and recover the package, although this time he won't be the one making the call.

'I made no mistake, Mr Winchester. But the casualties of my students will haunt me like it always had.' Ozpin allowed a sad smile to cross his face, 'As for the wounded, we spared no expenses.'

'Is Pyrrha notified?' Jaune asked, 'I need to tell her that her team is…'

Jaune hesitated, and did not finish his sentence. Ozpin saved him the trouble, 'Yes, she has. Her Airship is inbound for Beacon as we speak.'

A silent nod from Jaune indicated acknowledgement.

'All of you did admirably, despite mission failure.' Ozpin reassured, 'The package will be recovered in due time, but-'

'Are we just acceptable losses…?' Jaune muttered as he cut Ozpin off, he smirked mockingly as he said so.

'There is no such thing, Mr Arc,' Ozpin said, his voice uncharacteristically soft, 'I know what all of you are feeling right now. Every Hunter has to go through it at one point.'

'Then,' Weiss hesitated, 'will you at least tell us what we bled for?'

Ozpin closed his eyes. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't. The contents were classified for a reason. How the White Fang found out was beyond him at the point, but that was a problem for another time.

Weiss took the Headmaster's silence as denial. She simply hung her head, like a disappointed child. They accepted his silence, of which Ozpin is grateful of.

'Sir…' Jaune spoke up, ' before we continue.'

'What is it?'

'Promise us. Never ask our teams to do such a thing again.'

He looked into the eyes of his students. The eyes told everything Ozpin needed to know. He drank in the details, and the emotions they conveyed. He was getting too old for this.

Conflict, hate, sorrow, anger, determination he saw it all. He could read much of a person's state simply by the eyes alone. Ozpin knew all too well, after the last mission, these children are children no longer.

Ozpin nodded. It was a simple request. He could comply.

'On my life, I promise,' He straightened his back, and watched as his students mirrored his actions. 'Now, from the beginning. tell me everything.'

No one saw the attack coming, despite their best efforts. The Mission was to guard a train shipment, carry a vital package for the higher ups in Atlas. To the layman, the train cutting through the forest of Forever Fall was business as usual. What the layman would not know is the presence of three groups Hunters in training, disguised as train crew. The mission was to simply ride out the train into Atlas territory, where the men of General Ironwood would be there to secure the package.

Goodwitch herself has reassured the team, if the Grimm were to attack the train, the automated defense systems would be more than enough. Outdated as it was, the AK-103 droids were sufficient enough to handle even a small army of Grimm.

But it was not the Grimm that had set their sights on the train.

**AN: Hello all. First FF here, so let me know what you think in the reviews.**

**Let it be said that the quality will fluctuate depending on how much brain juice I have. English is not my first language, so feel free to fire away at mistakes. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**


	2. Chapter 2

_A Moment's Laxity. _

_Several days ago._

_Somewhere in Forever Fall._

Weiss's breathing was ragged and uneven. Although she was in her element, she was forced to admit that she was unready for this level of combat. Her senses were heightened. She could smell the slight stench on herself, so sickly and sweet, and wondered if her opponent could sense the same thing. Although the interior of the train was air conditioned, she was suffocating under the intensity and impossibility of such a situation. Her ears were pricked, although she could not make out any other sounds apart from the clanking of the train tracks. The black, gold trimmed, uniform of a Train staff was itchy and uncomfortable, but she refused to allow that to hinder her.

Currently, it was a stalemate. How long before one of them falls?

Her opponent's eyes, tinged red by the interior lights, bore into her, so focused and intense a lesser man would have relented under it. Weiss Schnee was no lesser man. She was a Schnee, and she had a reputation to keep. She was poised to make the next move. To counter whatever her opponent threw at her in an instant. Dozens of possibilities had played through her mind, and none of them was favourable at the moment.

She studied her opponent. His long black hair obscured a portion of his face, but it was easy enough to read that he was doing the exact same thing to her. Sizing her up, calculating the next move, checking and double checking for any weaknesses.

Time was running out. Perhaps if her opponent-

Her opponent struck.

'Checkmate.' Lie Ren announced, as his bishop took up position, cornering her King. He stopped the timer on the table, and leaned back into his chair, uncurling his finger from his singular pink lock of hair as he did so.

Weiss sighed, as she tipped over her king. She had to admit, it was a sensationally good match. Although she had the advantage in the earlier stages of the game, Lie Ren had managed to wither away that advantage slowly but surely.

Weiss let out a breath she did not realise she was holding, and relaxed. 'Well played, Mr Lie.'

'Good game indeed.' Ren agreed, holding out his hand. She shook it.

'You lost?' Weiss looked over her shoulder as she recognized the owner of the voice.

'Yes, Yang, I lost.' Weiss replied, turning to face Yang Xiao Long. Her lilac eyes glinted with amusement. 'It was a good game.'

The blond girl grinned, as she twirled her uniform's hat on her finger. 'What a bunch of nerds.'

'Intellectuals,' Weiss corrected, earning her a snort of amusement from Yang.

Of course someone such as Yang would not understand the intensity of a battle of wits. Team RWBY's brand of fun did tend to have less thinking, although that is not to say Weiss did not enjoy them.

'You could have chosen a better place than here to play, Weiss.' Yang commented, as she kicked the large metal box beneath the chessboard. It was the package they were supposed to be guarding. An insignificant, metal box that serves as a barrier just as well as it serves as a table. Weiss merely shrugged, and started to reset the board. Ren retrieved the pieces Weiss had taken and did likewise. Practiced hands danced across the board and within seconds, the board was reset.

'Another round?' Ren offered.

Yang moved in before Weiss could reply, 'As much as she would love to, Ice Princess here has a patrol to do with the rest of us. It is now my turn to sit here and be bored with you.'

Weiss winced at the title, 'Ice Princess', but nodded in agreement. 'Yes. My shift is over. Yang is taking over now.'

Ren nodded, his expression unchanged, 'Very well.'

The system was simple. Two people remained constantly in the room with the package, and a member from each team is switched out every now and then. Granted this led to some unfavourable pairings, but having a lot of people stuffed in a small room was not an idea everyone was particularly fond with. It was simple and straightforward enough. The mission was currently one of the easiest Weiss had embarked on, although the Staff uniform were less than desirable.

'Should I pack up the chess board?' Ren asked as he stood up, stretching his legs.

'Leave it. It will give the others something to do.' Weiss said, as she put on the gold trimmed black staff officer hat, 'perhaps Yang would like to challenge you in a battle of wits.' She sniggered at the idea, and was promptly punched in the shoulder by an annoyed brawler.

Weiss smirked and stalked off, leaving the two in the red tinted room. She opened the door, and was promptly greeted by a red blur that rushed in front of Weiss. She stared into the eyes of her team leader, gigantic silver orbs that brimmed with innocence and energy, and realised that she was uncomfortably close to her face. Ruby Rose, the child prodigy of Beacon, was bouncing up and down in front of Weiss, her hands clasped securely on the Heiress's shoulder. Like Weiss, and everyone else on the mission, Ruby wore the same uniform, except she had her signature red cloak around her neck.

'Ruby,' Weiss warned, 'unhand me, please.'

Her request fell on deaf ears.

'Weissweissweiss you would not guess what just happened!' Ruby squealed, jumping up and down in her excitement.

In one swift motion, Weiss yanked Ruby's hat over her eyes, eliciting a squeal from her partner. That stopped her from jumping, at least. 'Now that you have calmed down, what is it, Ruby?'

'Apparently Cardin has a massive crush on Velvet!' Ruby declared as she straightened her hat, an excited grim plastered on her face.

Weiss blinked. She tried to process the information that she was just given, but something seemed to have stopped working in her brain. She tried to formulate a response, but could only manage a flat, 'What.'

'Yea! I didn't see it coming too!'

'Cardin. As in Cardin Winchester.' Ruby nodded vigorously as the words left Weiss's mouth, 'Cardin Winchester. The barbaric brute and racist I have the displeasure of knowing.'

'He is trying!'

'Trying too hard, maybe.' Weiss mumbled. Cardin Winchester and the rest of team CRDL were not on anyone's good side. Since the beginning of the year, Cardin and his lackeys had been a general menace to other students in Beacon. At one point, it became personal when he set his sights on Jaune Arc, their ally and friend. While CRDL had definitely toned down their actions as of late, Weiss chose to remain alert.

However this, news she could not believe. Velvet Scarlatina, a faunus and an acquaintance, was subject to CRDL's bullying for a while. She wonders how this will turn out for both of them.

Weiss marched forward with Ruby at her side, starting her patrol of the train. 'Where did you learn about this?'

Ruby beamed mischievously, 'I heard him have a little talk with Jaune over the scroll.'

Weiss raised an eyebrow, 'You were eavesdropping on him?'

'No! I saw him sneak off to a side and I just wanted to make sure he wasn't up to anything bad.'

'Oh.' It seems like everyone shared her scepticism. After all Cardin had done, it was hardly uncalled for.

There was a distinct chime of an incoming message, and Ruby flipped out her scroll with practiced ease. She frowned slightly, as she read the recipient.

'Oh speak of the Grimm, it's Cardin.' She told Weiss as she played the message.

Cardin's message played on the loudspeaker of Ruby's scroll, his voice distorted slightly by constant winds, 'This is Cardin. We have a situation. I need backup, get your asses over to the back compartment.'

Weiss frowned, what could possibly have happened?

Ruby shot Weiss a questioning look, evidently thinking the same thing. She motioned for Weiss to follow her. 'Come on, let's see what is happening.'

...

As the red leaves of Forever Fall whipped past him, Jaune signed, content. The scene was beautiful: an endless sea of red, only accented by the dark wooden trunks of the trees. His first memories of the place barely affected him at all, despite the presence of Team CRDL. It was here he discovered he had the courage and strength to do what he felt was right. It was here he learnt that he had people he could count amongst his true friends, and it was here he realized he did care for his team, eccentric as they might be.

As the train clanked along the elevated railroad, he realized that he was supposed to be patrolling, and he had lost himself in the blissfully scenery that sped past him. It was odd. Jaune thought he would have wanted Weiss to share this particular view with him, yet his mind had wondered onto his teammate. He dismissed the thought with wave. It was the red of the trees. It did remind him of the colour of her hair. Crimson: the colour of passion and courage, and at the same time, fury and strength. An oddly fitting colour, for someone such as her, Jaune mused.

His mentor, his teammate, and possibly one of the nicest people he knew. It was a pity Pyrrha Nikos was all the way back in Mistral. She had urgent business, apparently. Jaune wondered what could have warranted her travel all the way back to her home.

Jaune brought back his wondering mind, and continued the patrol pattern. Pyrrha's absence meant that another team had to take her place. While it was a wound in Team CRDL's pride that they were called in to replace one person, they had not objected. Jaune knew Cardin only respected strength, and Pyrrha had proved it time and time again.

A walking powerhouse with the combat ability of four Hunters in training is no small feat, and how he wished she was present right now. There was this nagging feeling at the back of his mind that he cannot put a finger on, a subtle unease that gnawed at the edges of his senses. Perhaps it was the scent of the sap, he did have mild allergic reactions to it as he found out when collecting sap for Cardin. It was the bare itch of the nose and slight reddening of the skin, nothing too serious, but enough to be a nuisance. Just like his motion sickness which surprisingly did not act up on this ride.

Yes, perhaps it is just that.

Jaune Arc shrugged, a vain attempt to wring out the sudden tenseness that seeped into his shoulders. He had a patrol to do.

His scroll chimed.

...

As the Hunter stalked into position, in the shadowy gloom of the metalwork above, he suppressed a sigh of disappointment. He would have loved to have the blood of a Schnee on his hands, and she was quite pretty too. Her defilement would have been grand, but alas, it was not to be. His arrival marked her departure. The signal, two bursts of static in his earpiece, sounded just as the Heiress left the room.

Whatever, the Schnees will lose a family member this day, it matters little by whose hand. It may not be the main objective, however it was an option too delicious to pass up.

He turned his attention to the two oblivious guards below. The boy was keeping himself occupied with a chessboard, playing against himself as he tries to out manoeuvre his mind. The girl was less much contained, walking in circles and grumbling, the extent of her boredom evident.

With the darkness cloaking him in its embrace, he was free to scan and observe his prey.

There were only two things in his world, the Hunter and the Hunted. It was not a matter of title or position, simply a way of life. And right now, he was the Hunter.

His target was the box, a box that the humans were protecting. That was reason enough for him.

It was supposedly on this train, but whichever box it was, he did not know. It will be marked with the coat of arms of Atlas, and apparently its contents are vital to the White Fang's success. It does not matter, once the White Fang clears this train of any vermin, they could search to their heart's content.

'Bored.' the blond girl stated flatly, throwing her arms in the air. There was something about her voice that made the Hunter think. It was an attempt to dispel tension. She knew something was wrong. Her Aura was strong.

'That did not take long.' The boy replied, an edge in his voice. Perhaps he felt it too, the feeling of being watched. He won't be far wrong.

The Hunter's lips curled into a crooked smile. Perhaps this won't be as boring as he initially thought. They knew they were being watched, as their aura dictated. Just how aware are they…?

He placed his hand on his beloved sword, and prepared to decapitate the chess player below him. Such a young man, such a pity.

The boy turned instantly, sensing the Hunter's killing intent. This briefly surprised the Hunter, and was enough for the boy to react. Out of nowhere, two bladed pistols slid into his hands as he aimed upwards, towards the Hunter's face.

The Hunter was faster. He pulled the trigger, sending his blade's hilt crashing into the boy's head. The boy crashed backwards, and the Hunter moved in. He almost laughed at the shock and surprise in the boy's odd eyes. He leapt down from the shadows, his body twisting as he grabbed his sword. With a twist, he swung the blade, aiming for the downed figure's neck.

That would have been the end of the boy's short life, or put a massive dent in his aura at least, had the girl not interfered. A punch sent him flying. It had been a good punch, powerful and sure.

With practiced grace, the Hunter landed on his feet. He was truly smiling now.

'Looks like we're doing this the hard way.' He said, as he sheathed his blade. He smirked at the memory.

'Who are you?' The blond demanded. Her gauntlet's cycled dangerously, loading in fresh shells as she spoke. The boy did not rise, the gash on his head was bleeding. The strike had knocked him out cold. Good, he could have some fun with this human that dared oppose him. She will know Faunus supremacy first hand.

Adam Taurus grinned, 'I am your end.'

**AN: Well, there you have it. Another bit done and done. Not sure where this will go in lights of the recent eps, but we shall see. Again, Comment and review!  
>Edit: The copy and paste function on this site works as well as a paraplegic ballerina. Formatting fixed.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

_Trouble in Forever Fall_

Cardin secured his scroll, and peeped into the compartment. At first, he dismissed the tapping sounds running along the roof of the carriage, but it was not until he recognized that it was footsteps, did he inform the rest of the team. It was a bad time to be caught alone; he had been talking on the scroll for far too long.

The emergency escape hatch on the roof was open, illuminating bare amounts of the compartment. He had all but caught a glimpse of a figure as it dropped down through the roof, closing the hatch behind it. Cardin could see ears that belonged on an animal, and long tail that trailed behind the lithe figure, a female. That was all he needed to see.

There was an intruder. There should be no one else on this train apart from the teams, and as far as he knew, none of them were Faunus. His grip tightened on his mace as he slowly drew it out.

The figure was stealthy, sticking to the shadows as it navigated through the boxes and crates. It was as if the Faunus was looking for something. The package they were guarding? Cardin thought about reaching for the alarm, to sound the alert, as this Faunus was definitely not supposed to be here. But suddenly, the figure stopped mid action, like a deer caught in headlights.

Cardin cursed, he had been seen. He had forgotten about their vision in the dark. Fuck it, he's going in.

Cardin threw open the compartment door, his mace drawn and ready, 'On your knees! Hands behind your head!'

Without so much as a warning, the figure launched itself at Cardin, and he caught a flash of claws. A few months back, Cardin would have panicked, and such a moments hesitation would certainly have spelt doom for him. He was much more experienced now. Instinct kicked in, and he brought his mace upwards. There was a sickening crunch as his mace connected sternum of the Faunus, launching her up into the ceiling of the carriage. It was a lucky hit, but Cardin had hit her with such force she actually rebounded off the roof as fell back down, crashing face first into the wooden crates below. The crates splintered upon impact. Something fell from her face, but Cardin did not spare it a second glance.

Before Cardin could do anything, the Faunus leapt back up and assumed a low predatory stance. Her face was contorted with rage, but otherwise appeared unbothered by the blow dealt onto her. Her golden eyes probed at Cardin, looking for any weakness.

For a moment, they both did nothing. Each waiting for the other to make the first move. Cardin was aware of the distance between them, and was prepared to counter anything that was thrown at him.

'This is going to suck.' He muttered.

With a snarl, the Faunus sprang forward, and Cardin met her with his mace.

However, this time, it cut through air. A sudden smash to the side of his head knocked Cardin into the compartment wall. Another strike followed, and another. Cardin shielded himself with his arms as he tried to get target from blurring strikes. His aura was steadily draining and if this continued, she would draw blood. She was fast, and skilled. It reminded him about his 'friendly matches' against the likes of Blake and Ruby.

But she was not on Blake or Ruby's level just yet. He was a student of Beacon, and he should not be underestimated.

The Faunus crashed her foot in the middle of Cardin's chest, and broke away. Big mistake on her part. Cardin grinned as he grabbed hold of the Faunus's leg with his free hand, and with a roar of effort, he lifted her up and slammed her entire body into the wall. While he may not have speed, he had size and near monstrous strength.

He had a grip on her, it was over. Before the Faunus even hit the ground, he twisted his body and heaved her up, and slam her down onto the ground. The impact knocked the air out of her lungs, and she didn't even have the ability to scream. Cardin was sure he had dislocated her leg. After all he had just thrown her around by the ankle. He was not done yet. Three times, he repeated this action, throwing his enemy around on the floor by one hand, destroying crates and denting metal alike. With a final heave, Cardin tossed the screaming Faunus to the opposite end of the carriage.

He did not miss a beat, as he charged before she fell on the ground. He jumped onto her, his weight crushing her into submission, and with a rage fuelled fist, he brought his mace down onto her face. There was a bright green light, and his mace bounced off. Her aura had been activated. Cardin had seen this phenomenon before. If he had to guess, her Aura was as plentiful as Jaune Arc's to resist that many strikes.

Not that it mattered.

Cardin brought the mace down again, and again and again. Each strike was repelled by an unnatural green burst, but each burst was glowing dimmer. He did not want to waste precious dust on scum. The bare metal would be more than enough.

The Faunus screamed in frustration, and Cardin saw something akin to fear in her eyes. She struggled like a feral animal, but it was futile against Cardin's weight.

He lifted his weight up slightly, and forced the Faunus to turn over by her long hair. She resisted, but with his strength, it made little difference. When she was on her back, Cardin knelt down, digging his knees into her back and pinning her down once again.

'Do not move you damned animal' He snarled as he grabbed her arm, locking it behind her back. There was no sign of the claws that Cardin caught a flash of, but he kept a close eye on the Faunus just in case. As she struggled, Cardin thundered his fist across the Faunus's head. He had to keep her disoriented, at least until help arrived.

'Why are you here?' He demanded.

The Faunus did not reply, but simply moaned in pain.

Another strike cut it short. 'Answer me, damn you!'

Jaune came dashing through the door, his eyes widened as he saw the scene in front of him. 'Cardin! What happened?'

Cardin grunted as he yanked the hair of the Faunus, 'Found this rat sneaking on board.'

'And you attacked her?' He asked, exasperated. Cardin flinched at the accusatory tone, his racist reputation would certainly not help him here.

'She, attacked _me_.' Cardin growled through clenched teeth, 'I simply defended myself.'

The Faunus pinned below Cardin whimpered as she struggled against the man's weight. Cardin stopped her with a sharp upward wrench of her arm.

'Shut up.' He commanded, once again. There was a dull ache in the back of his neck, a sign of the sudden adrenaline rush wearing off. It did not improve his soured mood. Now that he has got a closer look at the Faunus, he realized she was a very young girl, perhaps the same age as Ruby. Her long hair was obviously dyed dark green, and her face was contorted with pain. If not for the fact that he was attacked by her, Cardin might have felt a little guilty. But no, mercy has no place here. Not just after the fact she had tried to gut him.

He slammed her head into the ground, 'Why are you here?'

Jaune's face twisted in anger, 'Hey, stop that!'

'Then help me restrain her!'

'You are hurting her!'

Cardin's patience was wearing thin. Jaune might have saved him from an Ursa Major, but man, he could be dumb sometimes. 'Are you stupid? That does not matter at the moment!'

'P-please,' The Faunus whimpered, her voice gave away she was on the edge of tears, 'I was panicked and I didn't know what to do.'

Cardin grabbed her by her hair and lifted arced her head backwards. Ignoring her screams, he lowered himself beside her animal ears. 'Do not lie to me, scum. Tell us why you are here and perhaps I'll play nice.'

'P-please!' She stammered, she wept openly now, 'Don't hurt me!'

'Enough!' Cardin was shoved unceremoniously off the girl's back. As he recovered, he was staring at the tip Jaune's blade.

'You have got to be kidding me.'

'This is not how we work,' Jaune said firmly, his voice low and dangerous, 'You will treat her with respect and dignity while we question her.'

'You are a fucking idiot, Arc.' Cardin growled, slapping the blade aside, 'A little show and a few tears is enough to convince you.'

'I'm not a bully, Cardin. We will do this my way.'

Cardin's blood boiled. He drew himself to his full height, his knuckles were white as he gripped his mace, 'Why you-'

Ruby and Weiss stormed into the compartment, and were confused at the site of Jaune pointing his sword at Cardin.

'Uh…guys?' Ruby ventured, 'Why is going on?'

'We found an intruder.' Jaune said, 'Cardin had apprehended her and-'

'Who?' Weiss questioned, a frown on her face, 'there is no one here.'

The boys looked down at their feet, and realized the intruder had indeed vanished. During their argument, she had taken the chance to slip off. Such stealth and agility spoke volumes of who they are dealing with. Cardin cursed, he should have been beaten her unconscious. He shot Jaune an accusatory glare, but Jaune ignored it.

'Sound the alarms!' Jaune shouted, 'sound the damn alarms!'

Cardin did not need to be told twice. He ran up to the wall, and smashed the thin glass covering the emergency red button.

But there was nothing. Not a single peep. Cardin pressed the button again, was faced with the same result. The Faunus must have disabled the alarm system, maybe that was what she was doing up on the roof.

Then it occurred to him. The alarms should have gone off as soon as an unidentified personal entered, thus activating the combat droids. It had failed to go off.

Jaune pulled out his scroll, and called his team. Ruby and Weiss did likewise. Cardin cursed under his breath, and drew out his scroll. He only hoped there was reception in Forever Fall. There was none.

There was a distant detonation, and the entire carriage shook. Cardin thought he could hear screaming, though who's, he did not know. Debris clattered on the carriage's sides at high speeds, hurled back by the speed of the train.

'Oh no, oh no, oh no.' Jaune muttered, as he put down his scroll.

'Ruby?' Weiss said, her tone controlled but set on edge.

Ruby simply nodded, and disappeared in a trail of roses, the only indication of the direction of which she had sped off to.

Cardin grumbled. Today was going to be a long day.

…..

The first thing Blake Belladonna noticed when she regained consciousness was the taste of blood. As her senses sluggishly returned, she became aware of a sharp throbbing in the back of her skull, and a warm wetness that trickled down the side of her face.

No, not trickled. She was marinating in pool of the dark, warm liquid. She did not need her enhanced senses to know that the smell of iron meant that it was blood, so who…?

Blake knew she had been attacked along with Sky Lark when they switched patrol patterns. Blake had no memory of what happened after she exchanged a nod of acknowledgement him.

While there was no love lost between Team RWBY and CRDL, even bordering on open hostilities at one point, she hoped Sky Lark was fine. That thought became less likely when she realized: with the amount of blood present on the floor, it was not her blood.

She slowly sat up, still cradling her throbbing head. Her long black hair was damp with blood, and her ears twitched in annoyance.

Her ears…she grabbed at her cat ears, and realized her ribbon was gone. The only thing that protected her identity as a Faunus, was gone. Team RWBY and JNPR already knew. But CRDL, infamous for their hate for Faunus would surely-

The hairs of her neck prickled with chills. Her Aura was acting up. Blake slowly turned to look behind her, and what she saw made her blood run cold.

Sky Lark was dead. His shredded corpse was being cradled by a small bald man with a snarling visor of a Grimm skull. It was a symbol she would recognize anywhere. After all, she used to be with them.

The White Fang.

The man was rocking back and forth, humming tunelessly as he smoothed out the long hair of the deceased boy. Sky Lark had been bled dry, his body and armour was shredded by a multitude of tiny wounds.

Finally noticing that Blake had regained consciousness, the man looked at her. His tongue flicked out momentarily, his forked tongue tasting the air. His visor was splashed with Sky's blood and betrayed no emotion, until a wicked smile split across his face, exposing elongated fangs. He cast the corpse unceremoniously aside, his interest quipped by the Faunus in front of him. From the pouches strapped onto his waist, he drew his claws. It was a wicked thing, with blood glistened off the hundreds of miniature hooked razors adorning the surface.

Blake made a leap to her feet, her hands going instinctively behind her back for her weapon. The man pounced and struck, his bladed claws tearing into Blake's raised hand and pinning her on the wall. Blake screamed as she felt the tiny razors lacerate and tear her hand. Gambrol Shroud skidded away, just out of arms reach.

'Hello…Blake…'His voice was low and smooth, yet the threat was palpable. Blake did not recognize the voice, but then again, she had met a lot of people in the White Fang.

'Who…?'

'I am hurt you do not remember me. Though, I should not be surprised.'

Blake snarled with bravery she did not truly feel. The man simply laughed at her.

'My name is Kaa,' The man brought his claws to bear, gently enveloping Blake's face in his palm, 'you will do well to remember it, sweetheart.'

Indeed, Blake had no recollection of anyone named 'Kaa'. But then again, the White Fang is hardly a small group. She might have gone on missions with him at one point during her time. Not that it mattered now.

With slow and deliberate care, Kaa retracted the claws. Blake hissed as the serrated surface peeled back her skin, layer by layer. She felt blood well up from the tiny cuts left by the serrated edges, but she would not give the man the satisfaction of hearing her cries of pain. She struggled, but to no avail.

'To think a Faunus like you would ally yourself with the humans…' Kaa rasped, contempt oozing from his voice, '…a disgrace, least to say.'

'I am not a monster.' She spat through gritted teeth. Her Aura was already healing the cuts, because of the deliberate slowness at which the wounds were inflicted. However this just meant more time in letting her bleed out.

'You shall look like one, once we are done with you.'

Kaa's mouth unhinged, stretching unnaturally wide for a humanoid. Fangs unfolded with a trail of spit and saliva, dripping with what Blake assumed to be venom. His head tilted down, sizing up his prey, before with deliberate slowness, descended unto her. Blake, using her free hand, punched Kaa square in the jaw. He did not even flinch. Her current position did not allow her for a proper swing. Somehow she knew the White Fang would catch up to her, one way or another. Just, not like this.

The bite never came, as she felt the Faunus spring back in surprise. Blake hissed as she felt the claws tear violently out of her wounded hand. There was a sizable hole in her hand at the moment, and her entire arm felt limp. She looked up to see a flash of daggers, narrowly missing the Faunus by a hair's breath. Kaa fell onto his backside, but sprung up before a sword threatened to decapitate him.

Dove Bronzewing and Russel Thrush leapt past Blake, a blur of brown and green. Fire dust roared from Russel's daggers, pushing the enemy Faunus back with its intense heat. He spun, twirling into a ball of blades and fury, and launched himself at the figure. It would have been a funny sight had it not been so effective.

Despite their previous shows of cowardice, Blake saw none of it now. Dove's narrow eyes were open with rage, fuelled by the image of his mutilated teammate. Russel's attacks were relentless, almost reckless in its nature.

Blake seeing the chance, leapt to her feet with cat-like agility. She made a grab for her weapon, Gambol Shroud and immediately joined in the fray. Collapsing her weapon into its pistol form, Blake took care not to hit the two men engaged in the fierce melee

Her weapon spoke. Blake could almost feel her emotions manifest into the weapon she held, spitting death at the enemy. The shots were desperate, like attacks made from a cornered animal. Her first shot went wide, so much so Blake forced herself to clam down. She slowed her breathing, forcing her emotions in check and calming the storm that is her heart. She took aim once again.

Distracted by the intense melee, Kaa did not have time to react as the bullet smashed into his arm, spinning him around. His aura flashed as he stumbled, and Dove's sword made sure he fell. Russel swooped in overhead, his daggers flashing as he carved into Kaa's prone form, but was knocked back into Dove as Kaa kicked out. It bought Kaa the precious few seconds to recover. He was truly bleeding now.

Gambol shroud spat more lead at the running figure, but Blake's shot were wide. The tear in her hand threw off any form of accuracy she might have had. Kaa stumbled and crawled, despite the barrage of bullets and blades. Kaa actually managed to return fire, as miniature razors leapt off his claws like a swarm of tiny insects. But a quick slash and twirl by the Russel and Dove deflected enough from causing any real damage.

The pair came at him howling like vengeful banshees, swinging and stabbing. Fires blazed in their eyes and their lips were parted into a snarling visage of utter hate. Team CRDL bore barely disguised contempt for Faunus until recently, but now that hate fuelled the pair and drove them onwards.

The snake Faunus tried to deflect the blades, but each strike deflected was followed immediately by a riposte from either one of the boys. Blades clashed, firearms barked, inch by inch Dove and Russel forced the Faunus back. Blood splattered across the floor as the pair whittled away at his defense.

Russel threw himself backwards as Dove weaved in, bypassing Kaa's guard and landed a solid strike with the pommel of his sword. Kaa lurched back, crashing out through the door.

As he stumbled back onto his feet, he readied himself for another inevitable onslaught of blades. But it did not come.

'Heads up!' A cheery voice sang.

In his panic, Kaa did. Blake almost laughed the irony of his stunned reaction.

After all, it must have been quite a surreal sight, seeing a small little girl descent upon you with a gigantic hammer. Nora Valkyrie, literally the hammer of team JNPR, whooped in triumph as her strike connected.

Blake watched with baited breath as Kaa's broken form fell into the gaps of each compartment, and vanished under the train tracks. When Kaa was finally out of sight, she let out her breath. The ache of her head returned, and she suppressed an urge to hurl her guts out.

A hand steadied her, and she realized to realize it was Russel. He eyed her exposed ears wearily but made no comment, although his disdain was evident. The blood leaking on her head and the position they found her in was evidence enough that she was on their side.

'What happened, Blake?' Russel asked, gesturing Sky's body. He did not look at the body. His face was unrecognizable, for it is a mess of ruined flesh flensed off the skull with tiny blades. Blake felt a pang of regret. No one deserved to look at the mutilated body of their friend.

Blake shook her head, and immediately regretted the decision as a new wave of nausea and pain blossomed through her. Russel waited patiently for her answer.

'I don't know, Thrush. I was patrolling with Sky and then before I know it, I was down.' She really wished she knew more. The Faunus had gotten to the jump on them. Had Blake been aware of his presence, Sky Lark would possibly have lived.

Russel cursed as he ran his hand through his green Mohawk. With the adrenaline wearing off, fear was slowly resurfacing in his blue eyes. 'I think we might be under attack.'

'You think?' Dove snapped, 'We would have bit the dust as well had Nora not try to blow us up.'

'You're welcome!' Nora laughed. Blake flinched at the sound, for it was forced and empty.

Blake blinked, 'You were attacked too?'

Russel nodded, 'Nora blew his ambush before he got the jump on us. I don't know where he escaped to.'

Nora's face fell immediately, 'I've got to get to Ren. Stay here with Blake.'

Dove blinked, although it was hard to see given that his eyes always looked like they were closed. 'You're going alone? You saw what happened to Larks.'

'I can handle myself.'

'We don't know what we are dealing with!' Dove reasoned to the jittery girl. Blake was sure Nora was either completely and hopelessly optimistic, or just plain insane. Perhaps it was just her coping mechanism for stressful situation. Whatever the case, Blake envied her now.

'It's the White Fang.' Blake said. Dove and and Russel looked at her, bewildered.

'How did you kno-?' Dove began, but was cut off.

'Does it make a difference of who's legs we break?' Nora asked, one of her eyebrows cocked as she stared at Dove. It would have been adorable had it not been delivered with barely disguised malice.

'Agreed, We-' Russel's words caught in his throat, and he gasped. Dove looked at him inquisitively, waiting for the rest of his sentence.

He tried again, 'I'm sorry, I….' He trailed off, as his eyes reddened. He vigorously wiped at his eyes, and cast a glance at the immobile form of Sky. Russel took a few moments to steady himself, breathing in and out. He tried again. 'I suggest we stick together. Activate the alarms.'

Blake was not listening at this point. Her head was feeling light and her senses were dulling again. She had lost more blood than she realized. However, regardless of the situation, the White Fang are here. Whatever their goals, it has to be denied to them.

…..

The engine room of a train is usually manned simple droids. These mindless automatons monitor the stream of information coming from the train's systems such as the heat, the pressure, the level of Dust and of course, their distance to their intended location. In an earlier time, these tasks would be performed by trained and authorized personnel, but as technology advances, they begin to replace such roles.

The room was small, and would have been smaller had it not have to hold a human or Faunus years back. So when a rift in reality shimmered into existence, it took up the entire room. The rift was colorless and silent, the only indication of it being there is a slight distortion in the air.

People and droids were easy to replace. Engines, especially those as large as these, were not. If the room was any bigger, it was have been considered a waste of space.

But Laurel Kell certainly thought otherwise as she crashed into control droid, sending it toppling into the multiple buttons and levers in front. She winced as she felt the metal edges of the droid and control panel dig into her body. She swore the train just sped up by a fraction.

It was certainly not her most graceful entry, but it was better than her most recent one. She cursed at her carelessness. If the man had not found out her location, things would certainly have gone smoother. It seems that they have severely underestimated the skill of these Hunters in training.

Kaa was not broadcasting anything anymore, so Laurel assumed he was either dead or currently indulging in his sick, debased pleasures. She already had her doubts when she found out a sadistic psycho is going to be leading the raid, but working with the likes off Kaa really put her off. If he was dead, he would be mourned purely as an asset to the White Fang, not as a person.

Her hands wrapped around the oblivious droid, and with a grunt of effort, Laurel yanked the head off, her claws lending her extra grip. It was of a simple and flimsy design, so it was easy enough. As Laurel flung the head aside, she dispelled the rift with a thought of her mind.

What a great semblance. It allowed her to run away or get onto any place she wished, so long as no one touches her. Damn the human bastard that pinned her down. She was lucky. Had the blonde boy not intervened, she would have not been able to get away.

Maybe these humans were not as incompetent as she had thought. Laurel's experience with them had only ever been with her hopelessly outnumbered, and had always assumed their only strength was in numbers. Perhaps they can fight like a Faunus too, when cornered. She would have to be careful.

Laurel attributed her mistake to her age. She was young. As the seniors would say, she would learn.

Her radio clicked in her animal ears.

'Teams are in position.'

Adam's voice crackled over her earpiece. 'Acknowledged. Kell, you are up.'

Laurel could hear the smile that is no doubt on the man's face. The grunt of effort, and occasional blasts in the background obviously indicated he was in combat, though the term may be subjective.

He was toying with his prey. However much she hated humans, she would not so such a thing. Even to Grimm, Laurel had been trained to end the fight as quickly as possible. Humans may be their enemy, but they felt emotions just as they do. Physically, they are inferior, that much Laurel was sure. But that did not mean they did not feel as they do.

Laurel shook the thoughts aside, and answered. 'Affirmative.'

Laurel checked the gauges and system displays on the train, her trained eyes taking in everything as she scanned for the relevant information. She smiled. They were on time. Things are going more or less as planned.

The plan was simple. Stop the train, preferably in front of the designated point they had set up. Board it, and kill or capture everyone on board. Retrieve the package, and head back home.

Just another day in the office, Laurel mused as she determined the distance and time to pull the brakes.

So long as no one interrupts her, the trap will close shut.

**AN: ...annnnd another chapter. Tell me what you think in the reviews and what not. Suggestions for future events are welcome as I do not have a 100% clear direction. That being said, work is piling up. Might not be able to update as often, apologies in advance. **


	4. Chapter 4

_Ambush_

The life of a Hunter or Huntress is wrought with danger. The biggest threat to humanity was the Grimm. They are the darkness while humanity, light. The dangers that comes with such an occupation was a given, and each Hunter/ Huntress is trained to combat the Grimm. The only time a Hunter or a Huntress willingly cross blades with another human, with the intent to take the other's life, was rare. A younger Ruby Rose would not even dream of the prospect of taking a soul, her past conflicts with humans or Faunus, even when her life is in danger, she had aimed to incapacitate rather than kill. It was not until the incident at Mountain Glenn, did people die as a direct consequence of her actions. But then again, how was she suppose to know about their plan of letting Grimm into the city?

Seeing the mangled remains of what appears to be Sky Lark has made Ruby stop. She did not know weather to be glad that her team was here to help her friends, or angry that fate had taken such a turn. Part of her wanted to scream, another part wanted to cry. She wanted to wake up to find out it was a horrendous dream, and laugh it off with Yang, Blake and Weiss back in the safety of her dorm room.

It was not the first time Ruby was faced with death, but to see it so up close and in such a manner was another matter entirely. She remembered briefly the faces of the White Fang members as they were knocked off the side of the train: shock, pain, or simply unconscious. Had they suffered a similar fate when the Grimm descended upon them?

Is she a murderer? Her, and her entire team, are they murderers for having a hand in the possible deaths of a number of Faunus extremists?

She did not know how long she was standing there, watching the pools of coagulated blood harden around her boots, staring at the ripples the train's vibration sent through the semi liquid puddle. But it was long enough for Weiss and the others to catch up to her. Ruby heard the footsteps, but she did not turn.

'Ruby…'

She heard Weiss call out to her, but did not respond. The corpse was almost hypnotizing. She drank in the details, every cut, every gash…

'_Ruby_.' Weiss said, this time more forcefully.

She ignore Weiss again. She looked into Sky's glassy, bloodshot eyes. His pupils were fully open, his jaws were still locked open in a scream of horror that will never end. She saw…darkness. Weiss had placed her hands over her eyes. She felt herself buried into the rough fabric of Weiss's uniform, and the warmth of her embrace.

'It's alright, don't look.' Weiss said, softly. There was a tremble in her voice, but there was also steely conviction. Had Ruby been her usual self, she would have pushed her off and insisted she was alright. She would have laughed awkwardly at Weiss's action while trying to avoid her death glare. But there was something…something about the sight that transfixed Ruby Rose on the very spot. Weiss swayed lightly, stroking her hair, hushing her. Ruby responded by burying her face deeper into her embrace. Weiss was not Yang, but currently, she did not care.

She was just a child, after all….just a damn child. How was Weiss so unmoved?

'Oh Oum…' she heard the deep growl of Cardin, devoid of his usual arrogance, 'Larks…'

Ruby peered up, still unwilling to accept the sight before her. Cardin was kneeling in front of Sky, his hands were barely hovering over his friend, as if unsure what to do. The, with as much grace his trembling hands would allow, he closed Sky's eyes.

In that moment, despite what Ruby had previously thought of Cardin and his gang, she was heartbroken. Perhaps Cardin's prejudice and hate was justified. Only animals were capable of such…such desecration.

Her breath hitched in a vain attempt to suppress a sob. Weiss seemed to notice, and drew her in tighter.

'Cardin…' Jaune said, 'I'm sorry.'

'Why?' Cardin replied, uncharacteristically resigned, 'it isn't your fault.'

'That Faunus…'

'…was not carrying the type of weapon that inflicted these wounds.' Cardin cut him off.

He turned to face Jaune, and for a moment Ruby thought he was going to strike him. His demeanor screamed violence and his eyes blazed with murderous fury.

'Believe me when I say I will get my revenge,' Cardin thundered, 'if anyone tries to stop me...'

Cardin did not finish. He did not need to. Jaune said nothing, and nodded. It seems that even Jaune knew what was at stake. CRDL had lost a member of the team, and knowing how vindictive Cardin could be, even Ruby would have hesitated to step in.

Jaune cleared his throat, 'Alright, there is definitely more than one intruder on this train. Lethal force is…I don't think we have a choice in this matter.'

Cardin grunted in satisfaction. He took off his jacket, any means of disguising as a train crew member is meaningless now, and draped it over Sky Lark.

'I'm sorry, my friend.' he whispered, before standing up.

With a few experimental twirls of his mace, he set out with renewed purpose.

'To the package, we still need to make sure it is secure.' He called back.

Reluctantly, Ruby let go of Weiss. The Heiress did not reprimand her like she expected her to, and for that Ruby was surprised as well as grateful. She tugged lightly at Weiss's sleeve, feeling the uniform's fabric under her fingertips.

'I'm alright now, thank you, Weiss.'

Weiss did not say anything, but her eyes had a rare glint of understanding.

'Guys, we weren't the first ones here.' Jaune kicked spent bullet casings on the floor for emphasis, 'There was a fight.'

Ruby knelt down to pick up a particular shell casing. Her frown deepened as she recognized the small caliber bullets. She turned the casing around and read the caliber. There was no mistake who's weapon this came from. Ruby felt her mind race, where was Blake then? Did she meet the same fate as Dove? There are signs of other weapons being used too, a scorch mark here and several unfamiliar blade marks there.

But, Ruby has yet to see a body, and that was enough.

'Blake passed here,' Ruby concluded, 'I've know Gambol Shroud's bullets.'

Weiss stiffened. Her expression hardened as she opened her mouth to speak.

'Weiss, you know Blake. It's not possible.' Ruby said, before Weiss voiced out anything.

'Do you think...?' Weiss asked, her voice unsure and hesitant.

'Weiss.' Ruby insisted, 'It is Blake we are talking about. You know her.'

Weiss seem to consider this for a moment, before signing in resignation. 'I…I know.'

She was just being paranoid, and Ruby did not blame her. It was not their first time on a train fighting off White Fang members, but that was a while back.

'Blake is skilled, Weiss.' Cardin said, 'She's alive.'

Ruby nodded, thankful Cardin is oblivious of the true context of their conversation. Hopefully it will stay that way a little while longer.

…..

'Come on! Get some!' Yang roared. Her punches and kicks had yet to connect with the figure that had attacked them. She knew the masks well enough.

White Fang. They meant trouble. She just hoped a certain pink girl will not make her appearance. She was in a train, after all.

Yang's mind briefly went to Blake. Had they come for her? She banished the thought, focus was needed here.

With growing frustration her attacks became more frantic, more reckless. But no mattered how much she tried, the man would smirk as he weaved through each strike with ease and fluidity. Any strikes that came close was deflected, and slapped aside. What pissed her off even more was that the man had not even drawn steel. Her pride was already wounded, but she cannot allow it to get to her.

She renewed her strikes with vigour, her gauntlets pumping out shell after shell after shell at point blank range. Yet…

'Fight me, coward!' She screamed, but Yang Xiao Long knew she was hopelessly outmatched.

Perhaps it would have played out differently if Ren hadn't been taken out first. She didn't even know if he was alive at all. She did not know how long this had been going on, but she was getting tired. The combat droids should have deployed by now, unless the system was compromised. Heck, she needed anything to balance the fight in her favour.

Finally, his blade flashed. There had been no queues, no build up. Nothing to transmit the fact he was going to attack. It simply happened. Yang's aura flashed, and she felt the flurry of strikes bounce off her body, her aura deflecting most of the potentially lethal blows. Her gauntlets met steel as she deflected a strike to her neck. With her free hand, she fired a shot a near point blank range into the man's face.

But he was not there. A sweep sent her flat on the ground.

At that point, the man could have gone in for the kill, yet he did not. A smirk, and he stepped back, allowing her to recover, sheathing his blade once again.

'No,' he mused with a smirk that never left his face, 'You are not worthy of Wilt and Blush.'

'Shut up.' Yang snarled as she stumbled upright, 'You'll pay for that.'

Yang did not know what he meant, but she knew he was toying with her. Like a predator taking some sick pleasure in the struggle of watching his prey wear itself out to survive. Yang realized that if she did not do something, she was going to die. It was a prospect that she did not fancy, not one bit.

Once again, Yang launched herself at the enemy, Ember Celica's powerful recoil propelling her forwards. She lashed out with a kick, straightforward and brutal, which would have rendered any man on the ground if it connected. However, he simply sidestepped, arms not even raised. Yang landed, and delivered several follow up strikes, her form a flurry of fists and shotgun shells. Yang was no pushover when it came to fighting, and she could be ranked near the top of her year in regards of hand to hand combat.

However, the man was like liquid, shifting and slipping through each of her strikes, deflecting the more lethal blows with the scabbard of his sword. Yang narrowly dodged a strike that would have shattered her cheekbones, and as she weaved under the man's unguarded side, her attacks finally connect.

With a grunt of pain, he was launched to the side and into the compartment walls, leaving a slight dent as he bounced off the metal plates. Yang pressed her advantage, but found herself stumbling back, holding her neck as she gasped for breath, her Aura was all that was preventing a crushed windpipe.

The fucker had recovered faster than she imagined possible. But at least she knew he was not unbeatable. At least he was not smiling now.

She switched tactics, and did not attack. Switched to a defensive stance, she waited. The Faunus did not press in to attack, instead choosing to watch what her next move would be with curiosity. They circled each other slowly, as much as the compartment interior would allow anyway. Yang knew the man had the advantage of reach, skill and experience. Her options were to call for help and wait for reinforcements, or run. But if she ran, Ren would be at the mercy of this man.

And she would be damned if Lie Ren dies because of her cowardice.

Suddenly, he was upon her. She danced aside and delivered a punch to his face, but he broke off before anything could connect, hurling himself into the opposing wall before propelling himself at her again. Pain blossomed in her stomach, as she realized she had been hit. A moment's distraction allowed for another strike, pain rendering her arms limp. Yang staggered backwards as an unseen blunt strike took out her knees, and she felt his hands close around her head. Her whole world spun.

A moment later, she was on the floor, dazed and bewildered. Her vision swam, and threatened to blacken when she felt a thunderous strike in her stomach. Involuntarily, she screamed, a minuscule amount of bile escaping her mouth.

'This is what the prestigious Beacon Academy produces?'

A blade through Yang's shoulder cut off any retort she had. She roared as she felt the blade slide through flesh, pinning her to the ground.

'Where is the package?' He demanded. She could hear the sadistic smile on his face even as tears blurred her vision.

'Fuck you.' Yang spat, but immediately regretted her words. She tried to kick out against the man's leg, but the blade had sunk all the way into the floor.

The blade twisted, and she almost blacked out. Her mind filled with white noise as it tried to comprehend the white hot agony. Such was the extent of the damage. Her Aura flared in vain, desperately trying to close her wounds.

'Last chance, worm. Tell me where it is and I'll make it quick.'

'Eat a di-' She hissed as sword was pulled out- cutting her off. She felt spent, and barely managed to raise her head to see what's transpiring.

Through her blurry vision, she spotted the man walking away from her. What could he possibly be doing? Her questioned were answered the Faunus came back, dragging the limp Ren by his long hair. His eyes were still closed, and he had an ugly bruise and blood covered the entire side of his face. Though it was nothing compared to Yang's condition, he would die without a fight.

Yang felt her bile rise. Was the mission more important than the life of a fellow student? A friend? She knew she would be forced to choose. She felt her innards blaze with fury, a familiar sensation she is all too used to. She knew what that meant.

She really wanted to hurt him.

'Tell me or I'll gut your friend.'

She just needed him to drop his guard and maybe. She needed something, anything to distract the man. Yang's shoulder throbbed with pain, but she felt her wound already closing. The blade had not hit any of her bones, and as the saying goes, 'tis but a flesh wound.'

But more importantly, it had been a series of powerful strikes indeed. She did not want to give away the element of surprise at this very moment, but Ren's predicament was forcing her hand.

She grinned, hopefully he's gonna be in for a nasty surprise.

Yang sat up and raised her hands up in defeat, wincing slightly at her shoulder 'Alright, alright! It is in this room.'

'Where.'

She mumbled something.

'Don't fuck with me, girl.' He spat as he tilted his sword against Ren's exposed neck, and Yang could see a thin line of blood as the blade broke his skin, 'Speak up.'

Should she lie? The man obviously did not know where the package was. But this meant Yang could be further agitating the man. Which won't end well for either Ren or her. She needed something, anything to distract him until help arrived.

'I don't know,' She trying to sound as desperate as possible, 'We're just told to guard this compartment. Our contacts are the ones with this information.'

The man contemplates her words for a moment, his blade not wavering from Ren.

'Please…let him go.' Yang added, the shake in her voice was genuine.

Yang Xiao Long was scared. The initial rush of combat had worn off, her aggression turning to fear and worry. When Ruby was nearly impaled by the Deathstalker during initiation, the fear and worry was sudden. It was unlike what she felt now, a creeping feeling of dread and numbness.

'Well…' the man muttered as the wicked smile split across his face, 'I do not think I'll be needing any of you, then.'

The man raised his arms slightly as he readied his sword. It was a simple and fast action, yet it spoke volumes of what was to come. A simple flick, and it would all be over for Lie Ren.

'No!' Yang roared.

An piercing siren stabbed through the tense air. The man winced visibly as he clutched his ears instinctively, his Faunus senses disorientating him, if only briefly. That was the distraction she needed. Yang, exploded into action, and caught the man square in the jaw as her semblance flared to life. The red glow of the room was dispelled, as the fires of Yang's soul burned. The man stumbled back, and steadied himself. He spat out a piece of broken tooth, and lowered his stance into ready position.

The red lights suddenly began blinking, as the sirens howled their melody. Finally, the alarms! Yang was wondering why they did not go off. The snarled as he looked around, aware of the walls folding back, revealing armoured knights as they stepped out. Yang doubted the droids would be of any use against this man, but it was enough of a distraction.

The droids deployed their wrist mounted guns, and in unison, they blared, 'Intruder alert. Lethal force authorized.'

The gunfire that followed drowned out the sirens.

…..

'Got it!' Dove roared victoriously as the alarms sang. Blake had to admit, she was impressed. Who knew Team CRDL had a member with such expertise in electronics. But then again, not many people interacted with the infamous team.

Blake nodded in approval as he watched the walls fold open. The AK Droids, outdated as they were, provided a numerical advantage. Blake had fought off an entire cargo along with…Adam, a long while back. They are a distraction at best, but it will have to do. Blake doubted there would only be two White Fang Hunters on this train, so they needed everything they can get.

'Now what?' Russel asked, not turning back. He was vigilantly observing the corridors.

Blake twitched her ears in annoyance. She was not leader material, yet for some odd reason the boys of CRDL had elected her as an impromptu figure to follow. It was the logical choice, given the fact that Russel and Dove were lacking in the socializing field. Team RWBY and JNPR had done their bit in opening her up, along with Sun and the rest of his team. Never mind the fact that she had more experience in these kind of things.

'I assume they are here for the package, I think the answer is obvious.' Blake muttered.

'Can you fight?' Dove asked, eyeing her up and down, as if trying to gauge her current condition.

Blake nodded, 'I feel a lot better now, but my Aura would be lower than usual. It should not be a problem provided we work together.'

Russel narrowed his eyes, 'You seem to be awfully calm about this, Blake.'

'I'm fucking terrified, Thrush,' Blake admitted, 'You know what the White Fang do to Faunus that… do not agree with them.'

And traitors. She barely held back the last part. But it was true. She had seen her share of tortures and executions. It was why she left. It was not the group she joined up with in her early days. After the transfer of leadership, it became a terror group. The White Fang would not be taking her alive, she will make sure of that herself. Heck, if she bit off her tongue and bled herself dry, it would be a blessing compared to what the higher ups would have in store for her.

'Come on, let's catch up with Nora.' Blake said, eyeing the corridor as it stretched down to their designated location. Nora, with her finite patience, had charged off in her search for Ren. It was as if her life depended on it, or his. Blake could not blame her for worrying, but her actions have put both of them at a massive disadvantage. Despite her everyday uttering of not being 'together-together', it was blatantly obvious she cared deeply for him.

'You know what I find odd?' Dove piped up as Russel took point, leading the party down the train, his narrow eyes a little wider than usual.

'Focus.' Blake hissed, as she followed behind Dove. They kept a steady pace, weapons at the ready. Her hand throbbed like it was on fire, and her lack of aura did not make the healing process any easier.

'Hear me out, Blake,' Dove continued, 'If they are hijacking this train, you would think there would be more than a few guys?'

'Shut up.' Blake growled, the sirens were already a pain to her sensitive ears. She did not need Dove's ranting.

'You would think they would at least try to stop the train to bring on reinforcements or something.' Dove continued.

'Shut up, you are not making this any better,' Russel snapped.

'Just saying! If I were to plan an operation th-' The rest of his sentence as he heard the train brakes. The young Huntsmen lurched forward, unprepared for the sudden deceleration. They were literally thrown onto the floor, with the exception of Russel who literally flew a few metres ahead. Their momentum carried them sliding down the corridor, the smooth floors of the train offering little resistance.

Russel grunted as he hit the door of the compartment, face first. Dove followed, closely behind, his larger frame and heavier armour crashing into Russel at full speed. The impact squeezed an abnormally high pitched squeak from Russel, akin to a mouse in a trap. Lastly, Blake slammed into Dove's backside, though it was significantly less painful than it would have been, given her two very annoyed companions that cushioned her. As they stood up, Blake and Russel did not speak, but stare blankly at a thoroughly confused Dove.

Russel spoke broke the silence, 'Just had to open your fat mouth.'

'Oh shut up.'

…..

'The train has stopped.' Ruby and Jaune said in unison.

The four steadied themselves aware of the fact that this meant the engines were compromised. It did not help that the alarm was still blaring at maximum volume.

'That can't be good.' Cardin noted.

'Keep an eye out,' Jaune commanded, 'They must have reinforcements.'

Weiss nodded in agreement as she scanned the red forest for any movement. It was good that they were on a compartment without a roof. Open spaced, with vision only obscured by several big heavy crates they had a perfect view of the area around them.

She should have expected this. It was a simple plan, yet it was working. Infiltrate the train, divide the groups up, and send in the main force. The execution of this plan must be perfect, and the fact that it had been pulled off spoke volumes of their opposition. Or maybe it was the fact that they were up against Hunters in training.

'I think I see…' Cardin began, as he squinted at the mountains on the train's left side.  
>Before Cardin finished the sentence, something plinked on the floor beside his right foot. Another plink sounded, this time, on the metal boxes behind Jaune.<p>

It took Weiss a little while longer to realize that they were being shot at.

'Take cover!' Jaune screamed as Weiss hit the ground. Weiss grunted hard as the air inside her was knocked out, the instinctive need for survival forgoing any grace. She looked up to see Jaune still standing up, like he forgot to take his own advice. She reached out to grab his ankle, and yanked hard, tripping him on to the floor. She swore she saw a tracer round narrow miss his head as he fell.

The rest scattered for cover. Ruby hunched down behind several stacked crates, while Cardin just made a break for it.

Unseen snipers started raking their position with bullets. They were close enough to get a good aim on them, and were effectively pinning them down. Weiss regretted her earlier thought of not having cover. They needed some cover, else they're going to get cut to ribbons at this range. The pitiful amount of cover in the form of crates and boxes was not going to cut it.

Jaune dragged out his sheath and unfolded it to its shield form. Weiss hoped, for the sake of Jaune, the shield was sturdy enough to withstand modern ammunition.

If not, then...no. Weiss shook her head free of such thoughts. They were getting out of this. Weiss reached for her weapon, ready to show those scumbags what it meant to be a Schnee.

…..

Ruby let out an uncharacteristic squeal of panic as she dove for cover.

They were trying to kill her. They were REALLY trying to kill her! She should have known the White Fang were a brutal bunch, but it was not until seeing Sky's corpse did she really understand what they stood for. Hearing, reading and seeing videos was one thing, but actually being there was another.

Sure, she had her taste of battle underneath Mountain Glenn, but she had felt in control of the situation despite the numbers her team faced.

She was scared, yet she knows she should not be. She had faced off Roman Torchwick in a gigantic robot with missiles, for fuck sake! She had battled through an entire train of White Fang members and faced off multiple Paladin mechs with the Professor Oobleck and her dog, Zwei. But now she felt like a target on a Beacon's firing range, she was a sitting target, ready to be picked off at some Faunus's leisure.

Ruby slapped some sense into her panicking mind, and folded Crescent Rose into its bolt action form. The shots were coming from the left side of the train, and judging from the angles of the shots, they had high ground. The distant echoing meant there was reasonable distance between them, however it was hard to determine when it seemed like a dozen rifles were shooting at them.

She closed her eyes, and listened. Ruby cast her focus away from the sirens, and tried to pick up the little background gunshots. How many were there?

Six? Five?

Three rifles, their distinct chatter obvious to any gun nut. Ruby picked out the well timed and snap of a bolt action of a kind, pleasing to her ears under normal circumstances, but not so much now that she's on the receiving end. Finally, the most distinct and loud sound of it all, was the heavy thud of a machine gun. They were all scattered quite a distance from each other, and there might be more alongside the entire hill.

Should they make a run for it? Their Aura barriers might shrug off a few bullets, but…perhaps if they had something else to shoot at…

'Jaune! Weiss! Cardin!' She called out, 'Get ready to run!'

Without waiting for a reply, she hefted her Crescent rose up, and sighted down the scope. Sure, her genius little mind had made an engineering marvel that combined a rifle and a scythe, but not for the first time did Ruby wonder if it would have been better to have a more classic design. Perhaps it would have been better to have two weapons for different purposes, instead of combining them in one. Alas, hindsight is 20/20.

It was heavy, and unwieldy, and the ergonomics were not the best. Ruby designed her baby with a Scythe in mind, not as a rifle.

'Ruby! What are you doing?' Jaune shouted over the din.

Ruby did not bother him with an answer, but instead scanned down her scope for targets. She had zeroed her sights prior to the mission, and she was sure her shots will land true.

Already, shots were converging in onto her, and it took all of Ruby's willpower to not duck back down when the bullets ricocheted and chewed into her position.

There! A sudden muzzle flash in the rocks! A Faunus, possibly a deer by the horns, lay prone, an squeezing off shots with an automatic rifle.

Ruby put her crosshairs on the man's exposed head, and started to squeeze the trigger.

But stopped.

She was a Huntress in training, a Hunter of Grimm. She was not a killer. She had sworn to protect Civilization from the unrelenting hordes of Grimm, not against fellow men and women, human or Faunus. It was so different to look into another living being's eyes, and pull the trigger. Perhaps if she had looked into the eyes of the men and women batter off the train at Mountain Glenn, she would have hesitated too.

No. Ruby shook her head clear. These people were monsters. They have the blood of innocents on their hands. She had already dirtied her hands once, although not directly.

That hesitation, nearly cost Ruby her life. She yelped as she felt something strike her hand, breaking bone and pulping flesh under the impact. Crescent Rose fired, Ruby having squeezed the trigger by instinct.

The shot flew wide.

…..

'Now!' Jaune grabbed Weiss's hand and dragged her up. His shield deployed, as he tried his best to provide as much cover as possible. Bullets thudded around them, some clanging off Jaune's shield.  
>Cardin ran too, his mace twirling as he swatted aside shots that came for him. He took a few hits, but his Aura held out. He dived into the safety and cover of the train compartment.<p>

However, Ruby was still out there, and now they were targeting her.

'Ruby!' Weiss screamed, as she witnessed her leader get forced back into cover from the amount of shots she was taking. Weiss's heart skipped a beat when she realized Ruby was clutching a bloodied hand that seemed to be missing one digit.

'Weiss!' Ruby called, back, as she clutched Crescent Rose in her chest. Weiss could see tears of panic in her eyes. She winced as a bullet struck too close for comfort near her head. Ruby screamed in fear as shattered chunks of her cover spat into her face. This was unlike the fight against the Paladin mech. They had the advantage of numbers and element of surprise back then.

Ruby yelped again as a bullet finally tore though her cover and struck her thigh. In response, she curled up into a tight ball, hugging whatever precious cover remained. There would not be much cover for Ruby at this rate. With all the guns focusing on the one person able to properly retaliate, there was not much Ruby would do.

'Use your semblance!' Weiss shouted, desperate for Ruby to get to safety. Ruby shrank deeper into her rapidly reducing cover as she covered her ears. She shook her head frantically as tears stream down her face. Weiss realized her leg was bleeding too. It will take time for her Aura to heal her leg, but time was something Ruby did not have.

She was just a little girl. Weiss felt something snap in her. To see Ruby so helpless made her angry. She had to get Ruby out of here. She made a promise to Ruby, to be the best teammate she could be. What kind of teammate would she be if she could not save her leader?

Weiss would not let the White Fang tarnish her name. She would not let them take Ruby.

'Jaune!' Weiss grabbed Jaune by the collar, dragging him close to her, 'Go get her!'

Jaune did not protest, but he did hesitate for a while. Weiss could not blame him, and she knew her request was unreasonable. They needed to draw fire away from Ruby, and so far only Jaune had the capability to do so. Without waiting a heartbeat longer, Jaune charged out again, a both hands holding his shield as he ran over to Ruby. Weiss's heart leapt as she saw a bullet round narrowly pass by Jaune's head. Had he been a fraction of a second slower, even his Aura might not save him.

She prepared Myrtenaster, and cycled through its dust chambers. No one hurts Ruby. No one.

With a practiced elaborate wave, Myrtenaster sang. The rapier resonated as Dust flowed through the hollow blade, manifesting the fury inside Weiss. Fires of unparalleled heat, only achievable through the finest Dust, wreathed itself on her blade. It needed time to manifest itself, especially on the scale she is about to unleash.

Weiss felt a guilty pang in her heart for using Jaune as a distraction, but she knew he would have done so either ways, with or without her prompt. Man might be a clueless idiot, but he seemed like a good man. His actions spoke as much. Weiss watched as Jaune willingly put himself in front of her partner, using his body as a secondary shield while he tried to drag Ruby out of her fear induced paralysis. Sparks flew as it deflected off the shield, and his Aura flared brightly as several shots hammered into his exposed legs.

Just a few more seconds….

The shots were coming from the hill, and it was close enough that Weiss could make out several muzzles flashes.

With accuracy honed through years of practice, she aimed. Not that it really mattered in this case.

Her fury was unleashed.

...

**AN: As of today, updates will be slower due to the massive increase of work...and the massive draining of brain juice. Let me know what you guys think of the chapter and feel free to throw in ideas. Peace!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Search_

Nora Valkyrie burst into the next train wagon, not bothering to wait for Blake and the others. She had gone on ahead when Dove was fiddling with the alarm systems, and so far the worst resistance she had met was a multitude of locked compartments, not that Magnhild could not handle it. She had stopped for nothing, not even when the distant gunshots and explosions echoed down the corridors. For Nora, only her objective mattered. As long as they were not targeting her, she had nothing to worry about. Not yet, at least.

The train was long and spacious. Had there not been a risk of disconnecting the carriages thus leaving the others behind, she would have sailed all the way to the front in all of Manghild's explosive glory. However, now that the train has stopped, Nora was beginning to question her decision of running ahead. But her goal remained: She had to get to Ren.

It was for reasons she did not understand, but rather her instinct had been raring for her to go as soon as the attack started. Can anyone blame her? She cared too deeply for her partner, despite what she says to Ren. Not _together-together, _she thought bitterly. She had convinced herself she was not ready, and now they might never be. Ren might be patient enough to wait, but death waits for no one.

But no one will stop Nora Valkyrie.

As she tried the door of the next compartment, she realized it was was becoming a nuisance.

Someone really did not want her to reach the front. Regardless, it mattered little. The door flew into the next compartment, trailing a shower of glass and warped metal as Magnhild tore through it with the force of a speeding truck.

One more compartment and she'll reach Ren. She ran into the compartment, even before the door landed on the ground.

Suddenly, her senses were sent on a knife's edge. By instinct, she lurched to her right, barely avoiding a hurricane of bullets that screamed into where to had stood a moment ago.

She scrambled to cover of a sort – behind the rows of empty couches of this particular compartment - as the shooter readjusted their aim. Nora risked a glance overhead, and fell onto the ground completely as she realized someone had set up a machine gun at the end of the corridor.

The bullets chewed through the chairs as if it was made of paper, sending cotton fillings, leather and wood splinters flying everywhere. The heavy and continuous thud echoed loudly in the enclosed space, pounding into her eardrums until they started to ring. As shrapnel ricocheted around her, she felt her Aura being steadily whittled away trying to protect her.

'A machine gun,' Nora muttered under her breath, disbelief evident, 'really, guys?'

As if answering, more bullets stitched the area. Nora felt a few hits connect with her back, but she resisted yelling out in pain. She was not sure if she could take another bullet without it tearing through her Aura. In that moment, Nora did not know what to do. Her breathing quickened and her heart pounded. She was going to die here if this kept on.

Thankfully, it stopped firing after a few seconds.

Nora did not move, and kept quiet. Did they think she was dead? They would not be able to see her unless they moved positions.

She waited for a little while longer, and felt the ground tremble slightly as heavy footfalls vibrated the floor. Had the seats have holes in them, she could have seen what was coming, but alas it was not so. Who the hell needed entire couches on a train anyway?

The footsteps were getting closer, and Nora's heartbeat quickened. Careful as to not reveal herself, she got into a crouching position, leaving the massive form of Magnhild untouched. She could not move it without alerting whoever stalked down these corridors.

She waited, as the steps got closer, close and closer. It advanced with remorseless certainty, like a predator on the prowl. Nora did not even dare to breath, fearful it might give her away.

A massive shadow towered over her, and it was in that space of a single heartbeat, did Nora make her decision.

Nora grabbed Magnhild as she burst out, powering clear of the wrecked furniture and saw her enemy clearly for the first time, and hesitated for the briefest of moments. A single shot sounded, and she was struck.

The massive impact sent her flying back out from where she entered. As Nora crashed into the ground, pain blossomed in her ribs. Her ears were ringing, and it felt as if she had broken a rib. The gunshot in confined spaces had deafened her temporarily.

She looked up to see a man almost twice her size walk out, a ridiculously large gun -almost the size of Magnhild- in his hands. A belt of bullets trailed from a backpack and into his firearm. He was well muscled, and Nora had no doubt he'll be able to break her in two with his bare hands. He sported a short Mohawk, unlike the monster Russel sported, and his masks were marked with several images of claws. Nora looked around desperately for her hammer, but realized she had dropped it when she was tossed back.

'A child?' The man spoke, his voice seething with contempt. 'The White Fang has mobilized us, for group of children?'

Oh no, Nora had no plans of dying here just yet, not without trying. She would never forgive herself if Ren found her broken corpse. No, she had to do something. Anything other than lay down and die.

Ignoring the pain in her chest, Nora scrambled towards the man, almost laughing at the absurdity of her plan.

Nora screamed defiantly, bracing herself for the stream of bullets that would end her, determined to go down fighting. With perfect clarity, she saw the man squeeze the trigger. She watched as a fiery flower blossom from the barrel of the gun. She saw the force of the recoil slam into the man's arms, jiggling his muscles as he controlled the shot. She saw a massive casing eject itself out of the side of the gun, spewing smoke as it twisted and turned. She saw the bullet, half length but as thick as her pinky finger, sail right into her face.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the bullet touch a bit of her hair, lopping off a few strands as it spun straight past her ears. She heard the hiss of the bullet, as if angry it missed its intended target by a few millimeters.

She sailed clear of the man's gun, which shredded the wall behind in a storm of firepower, and collided straight into the man's torso. The man hardly moved, and elected to pick Nora up by the scruff as if she was a puppy. Nora struggled, but to no avail.

He tossed her into the nearest wall, putting a huge dent in the metal and kicked her in the stomach for good measure, driving her deeper into in the walls. She couldn't even yelp as she felt the air slammed out of her body.

Nora coughed once, splattering blood messily onto the ground. The pain in her chest was unbearable. Damn, that man is strong.

As she slid down, her consciousness threatening to leave her she looked up into the man's mask. However, she was smiling slightly.

Looking straight into her opponent's eyes, her smile split into a full on Cheshire grin. Nora Valkyrie held up her hand…and promptly flipped him off. With that, mustering her remaining strength, Nora dived away from the man, down into the corridor. Her muscles screaming in protest, and pressed herself as flat on the ground as she physically could.

As the man turned around to bring his gun to bear, he felt his bullet chain clatter against something that was not there a second ago. It was then, the man realized he had something fixed upon his waist. He jumped back in panic, scrambling to get the device off, but it was too late.

The pink explosive shell with a heart stenciled upon it detonated, and Nora's world went black.

...

Lie Ren was a light sleeper. It was probably why he was always so tired throughout the day, and probably explained his legendary lack of stamina. The tossing and turning of his lifelong friend and partner, Nora Valkyrie did little to aid his sleep during the nights. At one point during his younger days, he was convinced Nora was leeching energy off him one way or another, not that he minded. He would wake up from things as simple as footsteps, doors closing, or even whispering.

But now, when he woke, it was not to the constant metal clanking. Not to the occasional screams and grunts of pain. Not even to the bulging pain on his head.

No. He awoke to rage, to unbridled fury that threatened to consume and overthrow his logical mind. He did not know where it came from, or why he felt this way. He felt the fury flow through his veins, churning every fiber of his being alive.

He felt something, no, someone. A familiar presence that he would recognize anywhere, anytime regardless of circumstance.

Nora, she was calling for him. He needed to get to her. He tried to scream her name, but his jaws were locked in his muscle's own vice. He only managed a rasp, so quiet it was drowned out by the wailing alarms. He mentally screamed her name. Again and again.

_Nora...Nora...NORA!_ No sound came out. His chest hurt, though it was not from physically pain. It was a stab directly into his soul, his Aura. He could not make sense of it, and suddenly his entire body was locked up as his muscles cramped.

No, he would not panic. Panic would bring nothing but a destructive cycle. Nora needed him. He must not fail here.

Ren slowed down his breathing, and the sounds began to muffle. The world around him started drowning out as he plunged his mind into the abyss. It was like being underwater, expect here, he found only peace. His angry mind quelled its own fire, and he felt his joints unlock. The pain in his head temporarily vanished as he focused his Aura. He felt it course though his body, energizing him and bringing him back to action.

Reckless anger would only bring about destruction of himself. It needed to be a more refined approach.

Hate. Yes, that would do.

Ren's eyes sprung open, and his senses were immediately assaulted by the blaring alarms and red lights. Scrap metal and spent casing were strewn across the entire floor, and several crates were smashed, dented and burnt. He felt as if his head had been split open by Nora herself.

He ignored all his misfiring senses, and pushed himself up in a crouching position, eyes hunting. Ren thought of finding Stormflower, but it was abandoned when he saw the scene in front of him. He contemplated searching, his attention was drawn elsewhere. His Aura was reacting to something, someone else in the room. He turned his head, and he recognized the very same killing presence that knocked him out cold. He also recognized the lower portion of Yang, slumped against the wall in defeat. Blocking the rest of the view, was a man sported a jacket with a symbol of an elaborate rose. He was distracted, focusing his entire attention on Yang.

While all he wanted to do at this moment is to get to Nora, he could not ignore the threat that stood within this room. Yang is in trouble, and he had an enemy to destroy

...

Adam Taurus had to give the girl some credit. She had lasted longer than he had anticipated, and even managed to get a few strikes on him. Had she been a Faunus, he would have commended her, or even spared her life.

Dedicated to protecting her downed friend as she was, Adam could not help by admire the sheer stubbornness possessed by the girl that knelt in front of him now, slumped on the wall for support. While the droids proved to be more than a nuisance, the lack of soul and Aura meant they were easily put out of action by a simple sweep of his sword, or even a rare shot from his firearm. Yet this girl took every opportunity to lash out at him. He had a few more bruises than he had originally intended to get, but that is all the girl is getting out of this foolishness.

But now, their little game was over. The girl had burnt herself out, expending more energy and Aura needed to fight effectively. Her movements became sluggish, her punches lacking power. Adam had quickly gotten bored, when he realized the challenge was over. A brutal bash into the back of the neck should have knocked her out cold.

Should have, but it didn't.

Instead, here she was, trying feebly to stand up, to face her enemy head on. Adam could respect that.

Her eyes still burnt with fire, but it seems her body has given out, if only briefly. Adam knew these types, they don't stay down for long. Adam took several seconds to enjoy that expression. Such passion.

Oh, the exhilaration he felt when she struggled and fought. It was rare that prey fought back, and Adam savored every moment of this encounter. Until the detonation outside the compartment reached his ears, he would have taken extra time to watch the girl squirm. However, they still have a package to secure, and a bunch of children to kill.

Pity, he would just have to finish this quickly….but how could he resist? He knew where the package was, he just needed to search for it. He still had time.

With the tip of his sword, he lifted the girl's chin up. She had put a few extra holes in his jacket, not to mention the extra cuts and holeshe now sported on his torso. He would reward her with a quick death. Her head would make a nice trophy for some of his more…special friends. Kaa came to mind, the guy always had an odd taste for trophies.

'It was fun while it lasted, girl.' He observed carefully as he watched the girl's flicker from red to lilac. Interesting semblance, he had to admit. Almost similar to his.

'Go to hell,' the girl mumbled.

'Next time, don't burn yourself out all in one go. A few more years and you'd become a top fighter. I have to say, it was the most fun I have had in ages,' He tilted his head to one side, a smile split across his face, 'not that there will be a next time.'

He dragged the sword edge down, hovering it just above her neck. With both hands, he clasped the hilt and raised it high above his head with slow deliberation. Even in the face of death, the girl tried to fight, weakly bringing her hands up to aim her gauntlets at him.

There was a click, and Adam relished the look of despair in her eyes. He must have smiled, because now the girl wore a grin across her face, robbing him of the satisfaction.

_ Whatever_.

With practiced ease, he brought the blade down in a decapitating blow.

Steel met flesh, parting skin and cutting into bone. Crimson flowed and splattered as the Wilt drank deep in human blood.

…..

Jaune watched in awe as the hills burn with the fury of a thousand suns. Weiss must have spent an entire canister of high quality Dust in that shot, her glyph semblance amplifying her attacks tenfold. Although it might have been unnecessary, he felt a grim satisfaction as he watched the fires roar across the red forest. He thought he heard screams of agony, but was ultimately drowned out by the roaring flames.

There won't no more bullets coming their way anytime soon, but Jaune kept his shield up just in case

'Ruby!' Jaune slowed down as Weiss dashed past him towards a sobbing Ruby Rose. Immediately, she threw her arms around Ruby Rose, shushing her the best she can. He hung back a respectful distance. This was team business.

'I'm s-so sorry,' Ruby choked out between her sobs. Her eyes were puffy as she tried the best to stem her tears.

'You dunce, what are you sorry for?' Weiss said, stroking her hair lightly.

'I-I panicked and...and...'

'Yes, you did,' Weiss said, not a single trace of judgement in her voice. Jaune still flinched at the bluntness of the reply. Ruby nodded vigorously, rubbing her tears off her eyes. She started to hiccup.

'It won't _hic!_' Ruby paused, her eyes now brimming with determination, 'It won't happen again!'

Weiss lifted Ruby's right hand, 'Your hand...' She muttered, her voice choked as if she was on the verge of tears too.

It was then Jaune noticed half her pinky finger missing. Jaune would probably be screaming like a pig stuck in a fence if he lost a finger. Yet Jaune knew Ruby's reason for being sad was that she endangered her friends with her inaction.

'I-it's not important,' Ruby waved it off, she turned her attention to Jaune, 'Are you hurt? Jaune?'

'Ruby, I'm fine. You are the one that's bleeding.'

She nodded, and took some time to collect herself. Like a tap being closed, her tears stopped, although she still hiccuped every now and then.

Jaune watched in amazement at the complete one eighty of her attitude in a blink of an eye. One thing is for sure. Ruby Rose does not make the same mistake twice. She stared death down in the eye, and now she's back to Leader mode.

Ruby beamed brightly-as much as he tear streaked face would allow- as if oblivious to the firestorm that is raging just short distance away. Weiss in turn returned the smile.

'Uh, guys? Hate to break this to you, but we're kind of under attack at this moment.' Jaune said awkwardly, unwilling to intrude into a moment such as this.

'Move it, idiots!' Cardin snarled, having no such restraint. His eyes were affix upon the top of the burning hill, and Jaune did not like the look he had on his face.

Jaune followed the man's gaze, and his heart leapt a beat.

Behind the burning forest, the top of the hill lay untouched. Jaune could make out humanoid figures as they stepped into view, heat distorting their silhouette. At first, it was just one. Then out emerged another, then another, then another. One became two, two became ten, twenty, thirty.

They were not moving, simply observing the train. They did not even attempt to brave the fires to help their comrades, though it would most likely be that there was not a point in doing so. Some would most likely survive even a firestorm like this. Such was the power of Aura.

Weiss had taken the life of another being with a soul. Granted it was in defense more than anything else, but it did not change the fact that whoever is attacking the train will seek out revenge. Jaune was sure his lifespan had just shortened drastically.

Ruby got onto her feet, and slowly backed away. Jaune could feel his gut plummet as he realized this was a hopeless situation. They were outnumbered, and outgunned.

The group immediately ran into the next compartment, Weiss and Jaune helping a limping Ruby. Their movement should not be visible from there. Jaune's mind raced as he tried to think of a way out of this situation. They are cut off from the team, and the objective is still way up ahead. No telling how many enemies were in their way. Should they pull out? Abort the mission and run into the forest? From the looks of it, they did stand a better chance of surviving the hordes of Grimm. They were trained to fight Grimm, after all.

Grimm are dangerous creatures, he learnt, but they were feral, beast like in their thoughts and actions and fueled with never ending hate for humans and Faunus alike. However, humans and Faunus are intelligent beings, and that made it them even more dangerous.

'We have failed our mission,' Ruby said steadily, as if stating a fact.

Cardin snarled as he twirled his mace, 'No, not yet. Not while I still breath.'

'No.'

Weiss looked at Ruby questioningly.

'We have failed. We pull out. Live to fight another day.'

'We need to link up with the rest of the teams, though.' Jaune pointed out.

'I do not think we can do that.' Ruby sighed, gesturing outside. As much as Jaune wanted to argue, she was right.

The White Fang have infiltrated a moving train, killed one of their team members and split the group apart. They will most likely try to the same with everyone else and prevent them from linking back with each other. A standard divide and conquer tactic.

'Are you suggesting we leaving them?' Jaune asked. Ruby hesitated, looked away from the group, and nodded.

'You can't be serious!' Weiss gasped, her eyes wide.

'I do not see why you would do that, Ruby.' Cardin growled, his grip tightening on his mace.

Jaune's heart sank. It was the best option at this point. He would have made the same call. Cardin might have no such thought. His stubborn attitude was going to be the end of him, one day. Though his perseverance should be admired.

'What about the others?' Weiss almost shrilled.

'Weiss, calm down.' Jaune said as he put a hand on her shoulder. It was immediately slapped aside.

'You agree to this too?'

'It may be the best course of action.' Jaune sighed, casting Ruby a sad glance. Ruby did not meet his gaze.

'But they are your friends! They are my friends!'

'I...' Ruby started, but stopped, 'You're right, Weiss. I'm not even convincing myself at this point.'

Weiss sighed in relief.

'Forget what I said.' Ruby waved, 'We need strength in numbers, else they will cut us down quicker.'

'You think we'll reach them in time?' Jaune asked, uncertain, 'What do we do then?'

Ruby considered, 'We still have quite the distance. We go in, start the engine, get out. But really, I think they will be fine.'

Cardin grumbled, 'Your optimism doesn't end, does it?'

Ruby gripped Weiss's hand tightly in hers, and Weiss visibly calmed down, though she did not look Ruby in the eye. Jaune was sure he felt the temperature drop several degrees. Ruby however, did not seem to take notice. She tested her wounded leg, shaking it for a bit. Jaune noted it didn't seem to affect Ruby as much. Either the wound was not so deep and her Aura has already healed the majority of it, or Ruby was a really tough girl. Jaune opted for the latter when he noticed a darker patch in her black clothes.

'I would not call it optimism, Cardin.' Ruby said, as she jumped using her wounded leg.

'Then?'

'Faith. We're getting out of this.'

He rolled his eyes in response. Jaune was similarly confused, but let it drop. Jaune was conflicted about leaving his team behind. When he said Ren was like the brother to him, he was not exaggerating. That extended to Nora too, as it was hard to think about Ren without thinking about Nora.

No, he was not leaving them behind, but if it comes to it…

Nora and Ren are tough people, and Jaune was certain one would go through hell to save the other. Such was the strength of their bond. He turned his attention back to the current situation.

'After getting the train moving.' Jaune mumbled as he ran his hand through his hair, 'Then we need to establish contact with either Beacon or Atlas.'

Weiss nodded vigorously in agreement. 'We can try travelling outside, using the train itself as cover.'

'Why would you do that? If the train goes we'd be left behind.' Cardin asked as he scratched his head.

'They might be waiting to ambush us in the corridors, and even if it does start we can latch onto the sides.' Jaune explained, seeing Weiss's logic.

Cardin nodded, though his eyes were watching the entrance, 'How will we make our exit then?'

Ruby tilted her head and thought for a second, before replying, 'The same thing you're probably thinking right now. Make one.'

Cardin grinned, and hefted his mace. Jaune sighed, and covered his ears. For now, he shall worry about himself. He would have to have faith, as Ruby said, though a whisper of doubt left his mind.

Cardin ran at the nearest wall, moving faster than Jaune thought he ever could, mace in his hands as it gathers charge. He hits the wall, metal and glass spinning into the air. It buckled open, ringing like a bell.

Ruby leapt after him, Weiss in tow. Jaune followed, leaping out and onto the red leaves of Forever Fall.

He'll be damned if he left any of them behind.

...

**AN: Well there you have it. Another chapter...half a chapter?. To be honest I still do not see where I'm going with this, but I'm sure it will work out somehow. Conversations are not my forte, so any comment or critic is appreciated. **


	6. Chapter 6

_Close Quarters. _

'Nora…'

Nora groaned at the voice, and turned to one side. She was sleepy, exhausted. It was like the aftermath of one of her many sugar rushes. She knows Ren means well, but... 'Five more minutes, Ren…'

'Nora…' The voice sounded murky, muffled. It was as if she was underwater.

'Mmhhhhmmm,' she groaned, desperate to keep her eyes shut for a few seconds longer. She could already feel her sleepiness leave her.

'Noooo…' Nora moaned as she curled herself up. It was so comfortable, and she was so very tired. 'Renny, please…'

'NORA!'

Nora jolted up, her heart racing. Ren had sounded hurt, in pain, even. She could not let Ren b-

Her thoughts were cut short as her vision spun as black spots formed. Dizziness and nausea took hold for a brief moment as pain flared violently in her entire body. It was as if she was hit by a speeding car. When she tried to move, the sudden stab of pain floored her.

She looked down at the source of her agony, and gasped at the sight. Her left shoulder was split open by a deep cut. Two smaller wounds adorned themselves on below her armpit, exposing a mess of muscle, skin and bone.

Nora studied with horrid fascination at the exposed sinews, flesh and bone of her own body. For a moment, she had wanted to pick at it and to feel the extent of the wound with her own fingers. It was a dumb idea, so Nora refrained against such an action.

It was caused by shrapnel. She did not even need to look at the metal pieces that lay embedded into the area around her. She was the explosives expert, after all.

Her Aura had deflected most of the shrapnel, but it could not take all. The brute with the massive dock off gun had really put a dent in her Aura.

Speaking of which…

Nora shuddered, suddenly remembering the bastard that tried to kill her, to stop her from reaching Ren. How long had she been out for? Five minutes? Five hours? Five weeks?

There was a deep throaty groan, and Nora's blood froze. No, it was impossible.

The groan eventually turned into an all out laugh, and Nora could not bring herself to look up at the source. She felt all her strength leave her as her mind refused to acknowledge the situation. The booming laughter echoed in the enclose space, and Nora felt animalistic fear rise from the pits of her stomach. Impossible, that was a point blank detonation.

Five seconds. She had been out for about five seconds. And a man can survive a grenade going off at point blank. It was unheard of, ridiculous!

'Almost had me there, girl.' The man rasped in between his laughs. His breath was heavy and ragged, and Nora could hear the drip of blood as it splattered against the floor. The scraping of metal accompanied each step as it drew closer, no doubt the weapon wielded by the man.

Monty above, please make this quick…

'Nora!'

There it was again! Though Nora did not hear from whence it came from, it was undoubtedly Ren's voice. He needed her. He was trying to get to her. She could not fail here!

Nora dove aside, barely avoiding the broken chunk of metal as it bludgeoned into her position, sending splinters of wood flying in all directions. Her senses screaming as she landed on her shoulder. It almost put her back into the embrace of darkness, but with new found energy, she fought it off.

Nora spun to face her enemy, and was horrified at the sight before her. The man stood in front of her, dragging a half wrecked weapon in his hands. There was a massive chunk missing from the side of his stomach, yet his Aura had already stemmed the blood flow. The entire left side of his body was charred and Nora could clearly see sections of muscles revealed under ragged strips of skin. His mask as shattered, and only half of it clung to his face which is now nearly shredded by chunks of the mask itself. Nora was sure he was blind in one eye. How the man is still alive and not shrieking in agony was a mystery to Nora.

She felt an almost twisted admiration at the Faunus's strength. However there was little doubt she was still in danger.

Magnhild. She needed Magnhild.

Gritting her teeth, she ran. Sliding under the savage blow of another strike which would have no doubt taken off her head. Nora ran, screaming as she went in an attempt to suppress her protesting injuries. Her arm felt limp and powerless, she would not be able to swing her weapon properly, but it was better than nothing.

As she scanned the scene frantically for her beloved hammer, she dared not look back. The thunderous roar told her all she needed to know, and she skin crawled at the thought of him getting his hands on her.

There! In between the seats! The telltale glint of metal revealed the location. Without thinking, she dived for her weapon. As her desperate hands scrambled for the weapon, a sudden jerk yanked her back, sending her crashing chin first into the floor. But it was too late, Magnhild it all it's grenade launching glory turned to face the gory visage of her target.

Without thinking, she squeezed the trigger. It was an act of instinct, and her finger jerked on the firearm, throwing off her aim by precious millimeters. The grenade sailed past the head of it's intended target and detonated into the roof, showering them both in shrapnel.

Nora's heart skipped a beat, unable to comprehend her mistake. _I fucked up. _She thought.

She fired again, but he was already upon her. A strike redirected the barrel and the grenade sailed down the train and exploded, nearly splitting the carriage in two. Snarling, the man struck out at Nora's prone form. Nora brought up her weapon, and the Magnhild caught the blow with its body. Shock waves were sent through her arm, as Magnhild crashed into her cheek. Pain flared in her injured shoulder, and she buckled under the assault. He thundered his fist at Nora's head a second time, and either out of luck of instinct, Nora shifted her head just away from the strike. His fist embedded itself in the floor splintering wood and denting metal. Nora did not think what it would have done to her head.

Magnhild unfurled into its hammer form. Though heavy and unwieldy especially in this situation, the man was caught by surprise. Magnhild's haft connected with his chin, and Nora followed up with its head. Metallic fury met the side of his head and sent him flying off Nora and into the seats adjacent to them.

Seizing her chance, she leapt up and brought the hammer to bear.

'Nora SMASH!' With a roar, she brought the hammer down upon the man.

He rolled out of the way, barely avoiding being crushed. The entire carriage juddered at the impact as the hammer crashed through the floorboards.

The man's leg lashed out and connected with Nora's shin. Her leg immediately went numb as it was kicked out under her. As she fell, the man's hand wrapped around her neck in a vice like grip. Without thinking, she dropped Magnhild. She clawed her fingers at the hands locked around her neck but to no avail.

As Nora gasped for air, she struggled weakly as she was lifted up off the ground. She kicked and punched, but the man shrugged it off as if it were insect bites. Her vision blurred, and black spots started to form at the edges. The last thing she would see was the leering face of a half skinned skull. Though the man had little to no muscles left on one side of his face, she knew he was smiling. He was enjoying this.

What a shitty way to die, Nora decided.

'Nora…'

Snarling through clenched teeth, she reached out with her hands, crawling and grasping at the man's shredded visage, desperate to grab a hold of something, ANYTHING. The man snarled and shook his head, denying Nora anything to grasp on properly. But his head could only move so far.

Nora felt her fingers dig into something soft, and with all her might, clenched with her fingers. With strength that belied her size, she pulled.

There was a rip.

He howled in pain and Nora was immediately dropped to the ground, gasping for air. Meat chunks splattered onto the floor as Nora relinquished her grip on his face. She did not have time to contemplate what she just did, but she can already feel the bile rising in her throat.

_No back steps now. _Nora spun, grabbing the shaft of her weapon and in one fluid motion, slammed it into the screaming man's torso. The seats of the train crumpled as a broken body shot itself into the wall. To the man's credit, he grabbed the head of Magndild, desperately trying to wrestle it out of Nora's grasp.

The man may be huge, and he may be a massive tank compared to Nora, but no one could withstand the power of two point blank grenade blasts. It was a risky move, and Nora knew she may or may not survive. But, she was always the one for risky actions.

Her hammer head still facing the man, Nora smiled.

She pulled the trigger.

The shockwave threw her back, but this time she did not lose her grip on Magnhild. Her vision swam and she fought the urge to hurl out her guts as she regained orientation. Still fueled by adrenaline, as soon as she regained some form of direction, she transformed her hammer back into its firearm variant. While smoke a dust clouded her vision, she did not wait for it to clear. With a roar, she fired. Again and again, her grenades found the general location of her target. She did not stop firing even as shrapnel flew centimeters past her head. She did not stop even as the train was severed in two by the punishment it's receiving. She did not stop even as her grenade launcher clicked dry as it cycled between empty chambers. She did not stop, even has her voice turned hoarse.

She did not stop until she heard the voice again.

'Nora…'

Only then, as she felt invisible hands lower her firearm, did she stop.

Breathing heavily, she watched with baited breath as dust settled. The thick smoke slowly cleared to reveal…..nothing.

There was no sign of the man, but then again, there was no sign of half the train carriage. No amount of repairs can undo the terrible damage she had wrought upon the vehicle. The red leaves of Forever Fall drifted in, a stark contrast to the blackened interior of the carriage. For a few precious seconds, Nora just watched.

It was not long before she stood up, transforming Magnhild into its fearsome melee form. Ignoring her injuries, she took off, her heart still set for her original destination.

…..

'Did you guys hear that?' Dove asked, his narrow eyes opened fractionally in surprise.

'No shit we heard that.' Russel shot back. It was pretty hard to miss the chain detonation that shook the entire train. In fact, it was enough to make the forget the massive firestorm that came out of seemingly nowhere and ignited the entire hill next to them.

However, Blake knew both the cause of these occurrences. What kind of friend and teammate would she be if she did not recognize the characteristics of her friend's weapon. Weiss must have run into some serious resistance in order to expend such an amount of Dust. As for the explosions, her superior hearing allowed her to pick up little details that might have been missed by a human. The detonations belonged to Magnhild. Too often had she heard it in their training sessions. Blake knew Nora had been forced to fight. However the lack of further explosions worried her. Either that means Nora has dealt with whatever she is dealing with and moved on, or Team CDRL is about to have another team to mourn with. She hoped it was the former. Unlike CDRL, team RWBY's relation with JNPR is close, so much so they are consider each other to be extensions of each other. A loss on their team will be like losing a member of their own.

'Keep moving,' Blake ordered, her voice calmer than she really felt, 'That was Nora.'

'Hammer girl? You think she's alright?' Dove asked to no one in particular. Blake was momentarily puzzled at the worry laced in his voice, but remembered that no matter how CRDL treated others, they were human.

'She fine,' Blake answered, picking up the pace once again, 'but only one way to make sure.'

'What about Cardin and the others?' Dove asked.

Blake shrugged. She did not know what he expected.

'Blake's a Faunus, not a psychic, Dove. Now concentrate.' Russel snapped.

'You seem awfully fucking alright with this, Thrush.' Dove snarled as he stopped in his tracks.

'Fuck I am!' He roared, and for a moment it seemed like he was about to strike Dove. Thankfully he didn't, realizing how stupid it would look if he did.

Tensions were high, and things might get messy if they continued.

That was the last thing they needed.

'Russel, he is worried, that is all.' Blake put herself between the pair and attempted to diffuse the situation, 'we're only helping the White Fang if we fight each other.'

Russel looked away grudgingly, and nodded. 'You're right. We've wasted enough time.'

'Indeed. Now if you idiots have stopped arguing with each other, we must-.' Before Blake could finish, Dove stumbled forwards, his scream of surprise and pain drowned out by the thunderclap of a firearm.

'Dove!' They both screamed, as another bullet connecting to his shoulder spun him around. Blood blossomed as bullet tore through his flesh, pelting Blake with fragments and gore. Her Aura prevented further damage, as she reacted to the new threat.

As he fell, Blake stepped in to break his fall. With practiced fluidity, Gambol Shroud unfurled and without aiming, she fired directly down the carriage. Doves entire weight rested onto Blake, and for a moment she thought she would not be able to hold him up. Russel immediately charged forwards, twin daggers blazing with elemental fury. He danced, blades spinning and cutting, each stroke and each swipe swatting away a bullet. Sparks leapt from his fire encased daggers as shot deflected off his blades.

Dove was already scrambling to his feet. He shook Blake's grip off and drew his sword, the firearm embedded in its hilt barked as he added his firepower to Blake's barrage. His left arm hung useless against his body, but it would not matter. Hunters are trained to be proficient with both hands.

The chaos was deafening, and Blake's sensitive hearing did not help her concentration. Between the dancing blades of Russel and Dove, she could see several figures down the train. They were hunkered down in between compartments and seats, snapping off shots inaccurately at them. They did not push up, nor did they have the aggression. Blake thanked Monty that they were not facing off experienced or elite troops. Most probably they were thrown a weapon and told to follow orders, just like herself all those years back.

'Get back!' Blake yelled over the din, ducking involuntarily as a round whistled past her ear, 'Fall back!'

With a flick of his blades, Russel sent a wave of fire coursing down into the enemy. Panicked shrieks followed by a sudden lack of incoming fire marked the time to move. Falling back one by one, they kept constant vigil, ready to shoot at anything that so much as took a peep at them. They did not press the attack.

Blake slammed the door of the carriage compartment and smashed the control panel as soon as Russel entered. Sparks flew from the panel and the door locked shut, the circuits fried. It would not stop their attackers, but it would slow them down. The most determined would blow the doors open, like several doors she had seen. Nora Valkyrie does not do subtle. She turned her attention to Dove, who was now slumped against the wall. Blood trailed down the wall, slick and wet from the open wound.

She knelt down beside him, 'How bad is it?'

'Already clotting,' he muttered through gritted teeth, 'URGH that fucking Grimmspawn shot me!'

He flashed a cheeky grin, 'No offense to you, Blake.'

Blake almost laughed, 'None taken.'

'You'll live, brother.' Russel said, his steely expression was betrayed by his anxious tone, 'You can still run.'

'Monty above, it hurts.'

'Can't be that bad, your legs are fine.'

'Russel 'brain dead' Thrush, if you have not noticed, there is a hole in my arm!'

'Blake has got a knife through her hand and she isn't whining like a little bitch, now get the fuck up!' Russel yelled, his worry turning into anger.

'Come on, Dove. We are wasting time here.' Blake urged, eyeing the door. While she did worry about Dove's condition, they did have a kill team chasing after them. It was also a shoulder wound, not a leg wound. He can run.

As if proving her point, there was a loud and sonorous clank. The door buckled ever so slightly, and Blake could make out muffled orders being relayed around. They really needed to move.

Russel suddenly looked up into the ceiling, his eyes wide in shock. He had sensed something.

'What is it?' Blake asked, suddenly concerned by his reaction.

'They have a Spook, flying around.'

'A what?' Blake demanded.

Russel gulped, his face suddenly pale. It was not because of the squad hot on their heels, 'We need to get out of here.'

'He's right. You really do.' A voice hissed by her ears.

The hairs on the back of Blake's neck stood up as she leapt away from the voice. A claw swiped at her head, and it was pure luck that it had only lopped off a lock of her black hair. Russel was not so lucky. He fell back screaming, his left ear a bloody ruin. It had come out of nowhere, and an impending sense of doom swept across her as her mind recognized the owner of the raspy hiss.

No, It was impossible. She had seen with both her eyes the broken body of Kaa as it was smashed off the train. No man or Faunus could survive that. Yet here he was, unharmed and unscathed.

Blake did not have time to ponder how the snake Faunus was here and not lying on the rails a distance back. She sprang forwards, deterring a follow up strike to Russel with a well aimed stab. Predictably, it did not connect, and Kaa slithered backwards, a wicked smile plastered on his face.

Blake split Gambol shroud in two, her sharpened sheath as a massive machete and the barrel of her firearm folded back into a blade, singled edged and slightly curved.

Though commendable, Dove and Russel did not have the same level of skill as Blake. This was proven over and over again in the sparring chambers of Beacon academy. Kaa had gotten the jump on her first time and the second time. However, he made the mistake of not ending her when she was at his mercy.

'Oh my, kitty wants to play.' Kaa giggled as he licked droplets of Russel's blood off his claws, ' Perhaps you would put up much more of a fight than that boy back there.'

Another loud bang echoed through the carriage, and the door moaned as it dented further in. Russel and Dove had recovered, and are both facing Kaa. Was he trying to tie them down here? Maybe. She doubted Russel and Dove could fight effectively in their state, but then again, she was not in top condition either.

'Russel, Dove. Go on ahead. I'll take things from here.'

'Fuck that.' Russel barked. Blake looked at him, surprised.

A while back, they would have gladly abandoned Cardin to the mercy of an Ursa Major. Now they were standing their ground. It may have been a slow process, but bit by bit, they were becoming Huntsmen.

'Like hell we are.' Dove growled, flexing his wounded shoulder. The bleeding has stopped, and through the power of his Aura, it was already a healing, albeit slowly.

'Nora will have our legs if we left you alone. I like my legs.' Russel shot a deadly look at Kaa, 'I also liked my ear. '

In a shriek of metal, the door finally gave way. White Fang grunts armed with simple weapons stormed in, their weapons already firing. Russel and Dove turned to face the threat, and within a heartbeat they were in their midst, cutting and slashing.

At the same time, Blake leapt forwards, scything through the air with agility and grace achieved through years of constant practice and experience.

'That's the spirit!' Kaa laughed. Claws extended, he hurled himself into the swirling melee.

…..

Close. Too close for comfort. A few seconds more and he would never be able to look Ruby in the eye for the rest of his life. His blood, thick and fresh from both his palms, dribbled down the length of his arm and soaking into the fabric of his uniform.

Pain. Pain was good. It shattered his drowsiness and focused his mind. His hand was a few centimeters away from being completely severed, and the only thing that stopped it from further damage was his aura. However, severed hand is better than a severed head. The offending blade was clasp securely in both his hands, centimeters from Yang's jugular.

With a snarl, Lie Ren channeled his Aura through his hands, clasp tightly around the sword. His nerves screamed in protest as the blade cut deeper, faster than his Aura could regenerate. The masked man tried to pull away, twisting his blade within Ren's hand, shredding into massive chunks of flesh, but Ren's iron grip remained. With a bestial roar, a shocking contrast to his usual calm character, Ren unleashed his Aura, strengthening his hands. He twisted, and the blade snapped.

Without pause, and without hesitation, he flipped the broken edge around and thrust forwards. The man jinxed backwards, swatting the blade aside with the remaining length of his weapon, his face a twisted feral snarl.

Lie Ren was knocked back as the man planted a kick that connected solidly in his chest. He crashed into Yang, but promptly recovered.

'You!' Ren looked up, but the masked man was upon him.

He brought his arms up just in time to deflect another kick, but the force of the strike was enough to power him back further. Ren grabbed the heel around his leg and twisted, spinning his opponent to the ground. His world flashed as he felt the other leg thud against his skull. It was not strong enough to knocked him out, but was enough to throw Ren off any further attacks. Ren went with the direction of the strike, and rolled sideways. His vision swam, but he tried to remained focused.

The masked man flipped up, his broken weapon twirling in his hand. He was angry, probably for breaking his beloved weapon. He leveled the broken weapon to Ren's face, and Ren had a precious few milliseconds to realize it was transforming. Ren projected his Aura into his bloody palms, and swung them upwards in a protective manner.

White hot pain flared in his wounded palms as it connected with a bullet a split second after the trigger was pulled. The stray round ricocheted into the roof above, kicking up a cloud if dust. Another shot was batted aside with his bare hands, before Ren risked rolling out of the way. Either out of skill or sheer luck, nothing connected as he sought refuge behind the package they were guarding.

More shots clanged off the metallic surface of the package, and Ren briefly marveled the sturdy material it was constructed out of. The man really wanted him dead. He was very angry indeed. Any Hunter would be if their weapon broke.

_And angry people make mistakes. _Ren smiled knowingly. He scanned the immediate area for any signs if his weapon, or anything at all he could use. However between the blaring alarms and the man trying to murder him, he couldn't find it. Pity. The Stormflowers were close quarter combat weapons.

The shots came to an abrupt stop as a meaty thud resounded through the compartment. The sound almost made him wince, for he was sure he heard the crack of bones even through the constant blare of the alarms. Ren jumped over his impromptu cover, ready to strike, but stopped last second when he caught sight of a blazing inferno of power and fury. He smiled at the sight, for it was majestic to behold.

Yang Xiao Long nodded at Ren, her red eyes cutting thought gloom and glowing fiercely. She was an avatar wreathed in her own flames, and Ren expected nothing less from one of the most competent fighters in their batch. The harder she fell, the higher she bounced back.

But even then, would that be enough? Ren knew she was straining herself. Only Monty knew how long he had been out, and he was lucky she stayed behind to guard his incapacitated form.

The masked man stumbled up, his jaw crooked to one side. With a sickening snap, he cracked the bone back in place. He worked it a little, experimenting by opening and closing it.

Satisfied that it was more or less intact, he turned his attention to the duo that stood in his way.

'You're going to pay for that' he hissed.

'As are you, Grimmspawn.' Ren said expressionlessly, smiling as his words seem to take effect on the man. 'Who are you, and why are you here?'

'My name is Adam Taurus. Remember that, for this 'Grimmspawn' will be the one that ends you.' He snarled, his teeth bare, like he was about to rip open Ren's throat. Ren could almost see the veins bulge in his forehead.

'Sorry about your weapon,' Yang grinned, confidence and energy slowly returning to her, 'Perhaps now you can fight like a real man.'

Adam simply nodded, 'You will pay.' He repeated.

Yang snorted. 'Don't be so dramatic.'

Adam charged, he was a blur of red and black. Ren barely dodged back, his head narrowly missing the wrong end of a roundhouse kick. Ren struck out immediately in retaliation with an Aura imbued strike, but Adam just shook off what would have been a lethal strike as if it was a friendly jab. Ren blocked with the length of his entire arm against another kick, and instantly felt it go numb. A brief window of shock and realization allowed the man to flip Ren on his backside with a vicious uppercut.

Yang hammered after the enemy, preventing any follow ups on Ren's prone form. Her gauntlets spat out buckshot after buckshot, each capable of ripping through Grimm and flesh alike. But the Adam gave no thought to defense, and charged Yang. He slapped away her fist at the last second, before it blew a hole in the floor. He stabbed with his broken blade, but the damaged weapon only skimmed off her Aura. Ren suddenly grabbed him from behind and him dragged back. Yang roared as she seized upon the advantage to plant several strikes on his masked face, each shot at point blank range. His head lolled drunkenly to the side, but he pistoned out with both his legs into Yang's exposed stomach. As she stumbled back, he grabbed Ren by his long hair and threw him forwards. Yang leapt past Ren's flailing body and threw her entire body on the Adam, throwing him off balance and pinning him down.

Yang pounded mercilessly on his face, but his arms were free and blocked the majority of the strikes. The room lit up as Ember Celia spat it's deadly payload into the man. Blood splattered from his ruined forearms, but his Aura was still going strong. Adam kicked his up, striking the base of Yang's skull and smashing her head into the metal walls of the train, dazing her instantly and leaving a bloody mark on the wall. He twisted and reversed the positions. He brought his weapon up and stabbed down into her exposed neck, but a sudden kick to the side of his head threw him off.

Ren grabbed Adam's head, one hand by his horns, and threw his knee into his face. The damned mask took most if the impact, but it did not matter. He flung his entire body weight into the man's face, again and again, before Adam grabbed him by the leg and threw him into the ground. Adam's face was now bloodied, and he was missing a few teeth, but his strength seemed to amplify.

He surged for Ren, but Yang was upon him, a choke hold firmly around his neck. Adam stumbled backwards as Yang dragged as far away from Ren as physically possible.

Adam grabbed Yang's head, and lifted his legs high up in the air. With all his might, he threw himself under Yang, toppling Yang over his shoulder. Yang did a somersault, landing painfully on her back. As she tried to rise, Adam crawled onto her pounded down into her face, drawing blood with each strike.

Ren ran in, and kicked Adam's head as if it was a ball, knocking him to the floor. He kicked again at Adam's prone form before his leg was caught. Having recovered from the kick faster than Ren had anticipated, Adam swept Ren's leg out from under him and flipped onto his back, beating down onto his head.

Before further damage could be done, Yang dragged him off Ren and threw him into the wall. The loud gong of metal could be heard even though the alarms. Adam dodged aside just as Yang planted her foot through the train carriage. She was stuck, but Ren crashed into Adam before he could do anything. All thought of style was gone, and Ren only acted out of instinct and rage. He pummeled his opponent's stomach, before Adam stopped the blow with his arms and sprang upwards, planting a solid hit in Ren's sternum. Ren stood his ground, his body burning and pumping. He swept aside another punch, and kicked into Adam's stomach. He caught the blow, and with a vicious twist, floored Ren once again.

Adam jumped up, intending to pulp Ren's head with a two legged stomp. Having freed herself, Yang caught hold of Adam's left ankle the last second, making him slam head first in front of Ren.

Ren seized the advantage, and wrapped his arms around Adam's neck. Yang held on to his feet, putting all her strength into keeping them from struggling. Ren squeezed, as hard as he possibly could. Adam choked and gurgled, uselessly prying against his arm.

_Just a few seconds…_Ren thought as he maintained his vice. He was cutting off the blood flow to his brain whilst chocking off any oxygen that flowed. Simple yet effective, this is about to be over really soon. He felt a searing pain cut into his arm as Adam bit and gnashed into a chunk of his flesh, desperate to get him to release this grip. But Ren held on, ignoring the top part of his forearm being destroyed.

He was so concentrated he did not see the broken blade flash.

His world exploded in a scream of agony as he felt something jam itself into his left eye. Instinctively, he let go.

'Ren!' He heard Yang scream, but he doing plenty of screaming of his own.

Through the blood and pain, Ren was sure he had been permanently blinded.

He heard a vicious laugh, but that was cut short as Yang launched herself into the fray with renewed vigor. His world swam and he could not open his left eyes. He clutched the open wound with his hands, uselessly trying to stop blood and a sort of gelatinous liquid from gushing out.

Ren summoned his Aura, channeling it through his body and into the source of the blinding pain. He screamed until his voice was hoarse as he felt the wound stitch itself shut. The blood stopped, at least. But he was going to look like a monster if he survived this encounter. Better ugly than dead.

Ren bit through the pain, and slowly stood up. He saw Adam punch Yang onto her knees, then kicked her away by the head. He slid behind Adam, and with a powerful strike, smashed against his knee joint. He bucked at the blow.

Adam twisted around, and punched. Ren ducked under the blow and attacked again. Adam threw his body sideways and brought his leg into Ren's head. Ren, blinded on the left, could not react in time before he was hit.

His world spun as his head connected to the ground, a crash echoing through the train. Yang promptly returned the courtesy, and the blow sending Adam flying into empty crates of wood and metal.

Yang stopped to help Ren up to his feet. They both knew they cannot take him on their own, and must attack together in order to make any kind of progress. Thought at the current state of their bodies, they have already given him a bloody nose. Ren doubted they could win the fight, but it seems that they did not need to.

A familiar presence entered his mind, and he smiled at the implication of this feeling. It was something he felt many times throughout his life, even during Beacon's initiation. She was nearby.

The door to the compartment blew open with the force of a truck, the door itself flying and narrowly missing Adam. Light spilled into the compartment, blinding the trio temporarily. Pieces of bolt and scraps ricocheted around the room, and Ren knew only one person would make this kind of entrance.

'Ren!' Nora shouted, and visibly relaxed once she caught sight of him. It immediately changed to anger once she saw the bloody mess his face had become. She swung her hammer menacingly as she advanced towards the prone form of Adam Taurus.

Adam just lay in the heap of broken wood and bent metal. He put his hand up to his ears, and muttered something. It was ultimately drowned out by the alarms.

Whatever it was, Adam suddenly vanished from sight.

There was a heartbeat of uncertainty, as Ren and Yang looked around frantically for where he had disappeared to. When it was evident that no further attacks are coming, they dropped their guard.

Ren let out of breath, and sat down on top of the package. The chess pieces were long scattered and the board was broken into pieces by bullets. Yang on the other hand, simply collapsed, her semblance taking a heavy toll on her body.

Ren looked to Nora, her face in shadows from the strong light that spilled in behind her. For a moment, she looked like an angel. Ren smiled, despite the pain and half his vision.

'Nora.' He greeted, a smile he only reserved for her, 'Boop.'

He reached for her nose, and tried to 'boop' it. But his depth perception was utterly ruined. He ended up swiping the air in front of her. He grumbled in frustration. It was then he caught sight of the massive flesh wound that split open her left shoulder, and the massive bruises she sported.

'Nora!' He gasped, pain tearing through his heart as he registered how deep the wound were. In that moment, he forgot about his own wounds. His eyes took in all the irregularities, on his partner. Splinters and scratches tore across her pristine skin and ugly bruises lay underneath her ripped uniform. Wood pieces and small chunks of shrapnel embedded itself in some parts of her body. Never in his life had he seen her so injured, despite her reckless nature.

His worry quickly turned into rage at the thought of anyone having the audacity to hurt Nora.

'Who did this to you, Nora?' Ren demanded. His expression must have been quite scary for Nora to quickly wave it aside.

'I'm fine, Ren.' Nora assured, though her radiant smile failed to banish the worry in Ren's mind, 'They do not have a body to bury.'

Ren felt the tension leave his body. Pity, he would have loved to make that person scream. Without thinking, he pulled His childhood friend into a close embrace, careful not to agitate either of their wounds. He ignored the surprised yelp of embarrassment she elicited and held her in place. Dust, he was glad she was alive. He breathed in, the familiar scent of her hair eased his mind, least to say. She was here, and that was all that mattered.

'Um...Renny?' Nora squeaked.

Reluctantly, he let go of Nora. They were not out of this yet

'I do not think I would have survived if you did not come, Nora.' He admitted, gently brushing away strands of hair on her face. Dust, even in her current state, she was beautiful.

'It's going to take more than a few terrorists to keep me away from you, Renny.' She beamed.

'I'm fine, by the way.' Yang groaned, waving her arms in resignation and defeat.

...

**AN: Sup guys! Mainly combat orientated chapter, as you can see. As always, comments and crits welcome! Still planning how this is going to unfold, but if all else fails, go with the flow. **


	7. Chapter 7

'That was close.' Admonished Laurel Kell as she watched the operations leader tumble into the small compartment. She wanted to laugh at the irony of the situation. Taurus had always scolded anyone taking a task too lightly, yet he seemed to have forgotten the advice himself. She knew his cockiness would bite him in the rear one day.

She looked at him up and down. He was a mess of bruises and his mask was cracked in several places, though she was sure he was most wounded in his dignity.

'Where's your sword?'

'Gone,' Adam spat, bitterness evident,' Destroyed by some brat.'

'Shit, really?' That really surprised Laurel. She had yet to see anyone disarm Taurus in a fight as of yet...for it be destroyed in combat was unthinkable least to say.

'I would expect nothing less from Blake's friends, really,' Adam sighed as he flexed his sore muscles, 'She doesn't surround herself with weaklings.'

'Yet you tried to have some fun.'

'They are humans. I would have taken the both of them had the third one not show up,' He retorted, a bitter edge in his voice, 'Besides, we know where the package is.'

'If that is the case, then should be proceed?' Laurel shrugged. 'Your call, Adam. One word from you and we move into Phase B. Although….'

'Although what?'

Laurel hesitated. 'There were reported casualties by the new recruits. Two were apparently burnt alive in the firestorm outside.'

Adam simply nodded, his expression unchanged. It was as if Laurel had told him about the weather instead of the fact that two recruits had already perished. 'Did they serve their purpose, then?'

Laurel was sure she did a bad job of hiding her surprise at the utter dismissal of lives, but she continued anyway, 'They have failed to eliminate the team leaders. Snipers say they are circling around behind the train. We have no visual on them at all.'

She saw his jaw twitch slightly,and she swore the temperature of the room just dropped a few degrees. Laurel looked away, not wanting to meet his gaze. He had been pretty clear on the elimination of team leaders, and it would have certainly taken out their biggest concern while putting a dent in opposition morale.

Adam was an angry Faunus, and in that moment Laurel did not want to be in the same room as him.

'Incompetent pieces of-' he breathed under his breath.

'They are inexperienced.' Laurel defended, 'I do not see you doing a bett-'

_Smack!_

Whatever she was about to say, it was cut off by smack. Her world spun as she felt the impact almost twist her neck. She steadied herself on the control panels, her cheeks stinging. Her ears rang from the impact, and though she did not see his eyes, her aura flared in warning. Tears of pain threatened to spill from her eyes, but she was determined not to show further signs of weakness. The only thing from stopping Adam from stabbing her this moment is the fact that she's a Faunus of the White Fang.

Laurel bowed her head and in a shaky voice, apologized, lest she incurs his wrath. 'Sorry.'

He ignored her, changing the subject. 'Has Kaa and Crim reported in?'

Laurel nodded, trying to maintain a steady voice, 'Kaa has. He is still holding off fine. He has 'died' once, useful semblance to have.'

'And Crim?'

'I evacuated him a while back, he should be getting transported off back to base as we speak.'

Adam seem to ponder this information for a few heartbeats, before speaking. 'Well that explains why the third person got through.'

Crim was supposed to guard and block off the compartment to the Adam. These hunters in training are definitely more competent than what they initially thought. Laurel had felt Crim's lifesigns flutter, and was lucky she even got him out, judging from the following explosions.

Laurel tilted her head slightly to the side in acknowledgement, 'If they took him out, then we should have brought more elites on this train.'

She knew Crim was no pushover. The guy was a monster of a Faunus, and nothing short of a rocket to the face could kill him. She guessed the semblance of Toughness, while boring and unimaginative when compared to others, is still quite damn useful. The chain detonations earlier might just have been what felled him.

These students are packing some serious heat.

'Kell.' Adam spoke.

'Yes?'

'Send the signal to the Bullheads, and start getting the reinforcements in here.'

Laurel nodded, and focused. Her she felt a familiar sensation of her Aura flickering inside her, like a weak fire in the wind. It always unnerved her, but it was of no consequence. Her mind clouded with static as she felt her mind fight to break free from its physical prison.

She closed her eyes and let go. Her mind soared into the skies above, whipping past red leaves and into the darkening skies. Laurel's mental eye was drawn towards the multiple dots of Aura that littered the red landscape.

Ethereal and free, she swooped down towards the raging firestorm that spread across the entire hill, into and through the thick smoke of burning trees. Straight ahead in the distance, she spied the walls of a minor settlement, teaming with Auras and emotions of men and women.

Laurel focused, visualizing herself ethereal form floating atop the village, and within a heartbeat, she was there. Scanning the landscape, she soon pinpointed a particular house. Though she could not properly see it, she felt the presence of multiple men and women inside.

She dived down into the marked house, through the roofs, and walls, into the basement. There, a handful of White Fang members awaited their command.

With a flick of her mind, she tore open a portal in the fabric of reality. To the naked eye, the transparent rift shimmered and warped. She mentally braced herself, as her mind was sucked back into its physical shell, whipping past land and people alike. As she slammed back into her body, she bit down and gritted her teeth, bracing against the coming storm.

Then, it hit her. A frenzy of pain, that flooded her mind, drowning out the outside world. She was sure she screamed, she did every time as her Semblance boiled through her veins, firing off every nerve and muscle. But soon, it subsided.

Laurel's breath came out ragged and harsh, and she fought to clear her mind.

She heard boots hit the floor in heavy thuds, and brief exchange of words. Try as she might to make out the conversation, the white noise blanketing her mind was too loud to penetrate. Her semblance, while useful, wore her out, if only temporarily. As she sunk into the floor, her blurry vision registered a number of people step out of thin air. Laurel maintained the portal open, each second sucking her Aura one bit at a time. At this distance, it was definitely more draining.

'That's enough, Kell.'

She barely heard the voice of Adam, but she shut off her semblance. The white noise immediately cleared, to be replaced by distant alarms. She looked up to Adam weakly. The men were leaving the compartment, filing out with hurried steps and armed to the teeth. They were not elite, but they were not green either.

'What now?'

The last person exiting the room was different, evidently the leader of the new squad. Her alluring figure was clad in standard White Fang uniform, but the full Grimm mask denoted her rank. Her hair was red in colour, almost the same shade as Forever Fall itself, and the ears that extended atop her head were similar in fur colour. Her bushy tail indicated that she was a fox Faunus. She had a three melee weapons strapped on her, two by her waist and one on her back- a sword and two axes. They all shared one characteristic. They were thick, bulky, and entirely lined with teeth. He took off the long sword from his back, and offered it to Adam. It was similar to Adam's katana, if not a bit longer. Its hilt was massive and it was lined with a rows of teeth, shielded on both sides by metal plating. It was a big, ugly and unwieldy looking thing.

Adam took it casually, 'Thanks, Carmine.'

The woman hurried off, another Faunus holding the door open for her. Laurel flinched as the sword roared to life, the teeth spinning furiously as Adam activated the sword. Now she knew the large hilt in fact, contained an engine. She shuddered to think what kind of damage it would do to flesh.

'Now?' Adam replied, finally answering her. 'Continue securing the train. We either kill them all, or let the Grimm do it.'

'What about me?' Laurel asked.

'Look out for your comrades, like you always have been.' Adam said, his expression softened slightly, 'Keep up the good work.'

Her chest swelled in pride at his words, and she beamed at him as she stood up, back straight, pain and exhaustion vanishing in an instant.. 'Yes, sir!'

'I know your semblance is draining, so do not push yourself unnecessarily.' Adam added, though there was no trace of concern in his voice. It was an order, but Laurel knew it was the best thing she could get.

'Understood!'

'And shut off the damned alarms.' Adam added, before slamming the door.

…..

'Get down!' Ruby hissed. Her voice, seldom so forceful, even Cardin obeyed. The entire group dropped to ground.

Nothing happened, but they all felt it. A gnawing, impending sense of doom. Their Auras were reacting to something. It felt unnatural, unclean, and very hostile. It felt like they were being watched somewhere close, or at least somewhere hidden. As hunters, they knew this feeling well enough. Even the hostile intent of a living creature to another cannot be this intense, this…abominable. That only meant one thing.

Grimm.

'Grimm. They are coming.' Ruby breathed. It would make their jobs a lot more difficult if the Grimm were involved.

'Too much negative emotions, too much hate.' Weiss agreed, 'It was only a matter of time.'

'But this fast?' Cardin asked, nervously fidgeting with his weapon.

'You would be surprised.' Weiss said, casting a knowing glance at Ruby. After a all, it was not the first time they were on a train filled with White Fang. Now the Grimm are involved, and that gave them both an uncanny sense of déjà vu.

Ruby Rose's ears pricked up, and she listened as hard as she can. With the alarms sort of muffled, she thought she could make out sounds of distant staccato'ed shots echoing through the metal vehicle. The cracking fires not so far from their current position was only drowned out by the hiss of winds. But within that, Ruby Rose heard not just the howl of winds, but the howl of Beowolves.

There was a growl, a deep throaty rumble of an angered animal. Much closer than they all anticipated. Ruby could feel the tension grip the group almost immediately.

Dead ahead, she spied black moving against red. A lone beowolf, stalked ahead, it's lifeless eyes scanning the area, as if detecting the source of all the hostile intent. It turned its head away from the group, and with a hungry growl, scampered down along the train away from them.

Oh, they were coming alright. Perhaps an entire pack of Grimm. While she was sure everyone of them had no qualms with fighting Grimm, they would rather much do it without people shooting at them.

'W-we need to get this train moving,' Jaune breathed, slightly stuttering. He was not the only one finding the prospect of facing off a horde of Grimm appealing.

Ruby nodded. They needed to reach the front, and fast. She hoped the snipers have displaced by now, and they really could use the element of speed at this point in time. Ruby cast Weiss a glance. She might not like her plan, but if all else fails she would pull her status as leader on Weiss. They needed speed. Caution went out the window long ago.

'Weiss?'

'What is it?'

'I need you to use your semblance on all of us, we need to jump all the way to the front.'

Weiss reacted as expected, looking at her incredulously. 'Are you out of your mind? What if they see you?'

'We were seen long before, Weiss. I need you to trust me on this.'

'I…' Ruby fixed her with a long hard stare. It was almost alien to see Weiss so worried and unsure. Perhaps their experience in Mountain Glenn really changed them.

Weiss finally nodded, and readied her weapon. She waved her arms and Ruby could feel a slight plunge in temperature as circular glyphs formed. No matter how many times she did it, Ruby was always enchanted by how graceful she looked. A side long glance to the boys reflected the same thoughts.

'I can only do two people at a time maximum, thought I cannot guarantee we all land in the same area.' Weiss turned to look at Jaune, 'I hope you have been working on your landing strategy, Jaune.'

Jaune laughed nervously, scratching his head as he nodded, 'Yeah, landing strategy.'

'I'll go first with Jaune,' Cardin said, patting Jaune on the back. It may have been a little bit too hard as Jaune stumbled forwards, 'You two are in a team, are you not?'

'We do work better together, yes.' Ruby confirmed. She turned to Weiss and gestured to the boys, 'Weiss?'

Jaune grumbled, and for a moment, it looked like he was about to puke.

'Oh stop whimpering. It's just a little bit if height.' Cardin groaned disdainfully at Jaune.

'Motion sickness, you do not have it.' Jaune shot back.

'Ready, guys?' Ruby asked. Jaune's nervousness always seem to bring a smile to her face.

Jaune grumbled under his breath, and readied his shield. 'Here goes nothing. Do it.'

…..

Kaa backed away, frantically dodging and deflecting against Blake's furious onslaught. Blake took satisfaction in the concentration of his features, despite it being obscured by a mask.

He was taking her seriously, and that meant Blake was a larger threat than he originally anticipated. Blake ducked under a swipe to her face, and immediately hacked at his wide open flank. She got one hit in before he disengaged.

Blake did not allow him much time to recuperate before pressing in once again. The man had one weapon, albeit a cruel and distasteful one. She assumed that in his arrogance, he could leave the other hand free. Now she was punishing him hard for his arrogance. Kaa was on the defensive while Blake, armed in both hands, whittled his Aura away one cut at a time.

She blinked back, a storm of razor blades tearing her shadow copy before jumping in for an overhead strike. Kaa blocked it in time, his gauntlet shedding bits of metal as it stopped Gambol Shroud's vicious bite. Twisting her body before she landed, she felt her feet connect with Kaa's chin as she somersaulted back. To his credit, he recovered before Blake could make a proper landing.

Snarling with rage, he threw himself forwards, barreling into Blake and toppling her over. Blake gasped as he tore his claws into her abdomen, swiping again and again, tearing away chunks of flesh and- she vanished. Like a poof of smoke, Blake's clone winked out of existence.

An impact to the side if his head tore Kaa out of his confusion, sending him flying head first into the walls. Blake -unhurt and unscathed- spun forwards, and hissed in dismay as her blades gouged out massive chunks of metal where Kaa had been. Kaa slithered back, his body moving in unnatural ways.

Her relentless assault was starting to take effect, and definitely showed in the ripped fabric of the man's uniform. She was a shadow, liquid in her movements and strikes, only solidifying when Gambol shroud bites deep.

Adam had taught her well, and Beacon refined get skills.

He was bleeding now, a dozen shallow cuts adorned his body, only clotting through Aura assisted means. Blake knew she was going to win, but she did not let her guard down. She could see the realization in Kaa's posture, and he knew he was fighting a losing battle.

Kaa backed out and did not reengage Blake, opting to fire at her with his storm of iron. Blake had the luxury and skill to wield two weapons, and collapsed Gambol shroud into it's ranges form while she batted away the projectiles. Numerous as the blades were, they lacked the stopping power and penetration of a real bullet.

Kaa learnt this when Blake returned with a storm of her own.

The bullets smashed into Kaa's body, spinning him around and throwing him on the ground. She heard him scream, mostly out of surprise than pain as he was sent tumbling into the wall. Blake kept on firing, her bullets only stopped by a strong projection of Aura that Kaa had hastily erected, but even then it was enough to shallowly embed itself into his flesh.

Her gun clicked dry, and Blake charged, her blades drawn, ready to avenge Sky Lark and wipe this sick man off the face of Remnant.

Then, he did something that Blake did by expect. He propelled himself forwards, mouth unhinged in an unnaturally wide angle. His fangs were extended, and unknown liquids glistened off it as he sprang forwards.

His speed took Blake by surprise. She tried to pull back, but his size belied his speed. She felt Kaa's fangs sink into her arm, parting through Aura and flesh. Blake howled, pulling back from the bite. With the hilt of Gambol shroud, she cracked it across the temple of the man. He relinquished his bite and drew back, his guard completely open. Blake lunged forwards, her blades flashing. Kaa howled as he stumbled back, a deep cut almost disemboweling him from the side.

He reached out with his unarmed hand, in a futile gesture to stop the onslaught of blades, but Blake smashed it aside with her weapon, taking a few fingers with it. Blake spun into his guard, and Gambol shroud attacked, searing into his outstretched arm. Each strike severed a major blood vessel, each strike was cold and calculated. Her mentor had taught her where to strike, to bleed someone out.

It came in really handy here.

Reversing her grip on her weapon, and plunged the sword back, and into the stomach of Kaa. She ignored his screams, and -with her entire body- lifted him up by the blade and over her head. Gravity took care of the rest, slamming her screaming enemy into the ground.

With a final swipe, she silenced the Faunus. His throat parted as her black blade tore through the jugular and through his windpipe.

Blood splatted and sprayed the interior of the train, covering the three Hunters in training with gore. Kaa was still kicking and thrashing, desperate for air, but soon his movements became sluggish, and eventually completely ceased.

Blake stared down into his lifeless eyes, and felt...nothing. There was still a fight going on. She drew her attention up to the grunts locked in combat with Dove and Sky. Surprisingly, the White Fang were holding off on their own, and the duo were merely keeping them occupied.

'Boo.'

Blake spun around, and was met with a crushing blow her to her face. She felt the flesh of her cheeks part as her world shook violently as she landed in the pool of blood next to Kaa's corpse.

She rolled back, to face her new opponent.

To her horror, Kaa stood in front of her. Alive and unscathed. Confused, she looked at the person she had just obliterated. Her mind had not been playing tricks, and Kaa was lying in a pool of his own blood, his body eviscerated from combat. Only now, Blake realized he was slowly flaking away. His muscles dried up, his wounds peeled back and his skin flaked off in a sped up process of decomposition, soon leaving nothing but dried bones. Blake's stomach lurched at the sight.

_What the fu-?_

She did not get to finish the thought. Blake brought her weapon up, blocking a swipe for her neck. She needed to fight this one too, it has to be a form of Semblance. If she killed this one, then maybe...

Then maybe...

Blake felt numb. Her limbs suddenly felt dead and heavy. Her vision wavered as she felt all the strength leave her body. What was happening?

She opened her mouth, to try to speak, to scream. But her vocal chords were unresponsive, and she only managed a croak. It was as if someone severed her motor functions completely. Like a puppet with it strings snipped, Blake collapsed onto the floor, her body paralyzed

Blake tried to scream a warning to Dove and Russel, who had their backs turned to Blake as they fended off the squad of White Fang soldiers.

She heard Dove scream her name as she collapsed onto the floor, his voice strained with emotion. To them, it looked like she had been killed outright.

She heard Kaa laugh, and felt his hands run through her hair. Her skin crawled as she tried to shudder, but it was impossible to move. Whatever the previous Kaa did, she was incapacitated, yet she could see and feel everything around her.

His fangs! Kaa had bitten her, and must have injected her with some form poison. Her increased blood flow only sped up the effects. She cursed herself for letting her guard down. The fight had seemed a little bit too easy.

She saw the shadow of Dove as he leapt over her prone form, his sword wildly slashing. Russel shouted something, but she did not hear him. There were still screams and grunts of pain coming from behind her as he held off the men and women.

A clash, and a grunt. A few gunshots and another clash. This time, a scream. Blake felt warm liquids splatter across her body,and her blood ran cold. The metallic tang of blood was sharp on her enhanced senses.

Blake wanted to scream, to tell the suicidal fools to run. She wanted them to flee, out numbered and out matched, they were sure to die. Yet the pair stood their ground, fighting a losing battle on both sides. A body fell heavily beside her, but she could not tell who. Whoever it was, he was bleeding profusely, so much so she felt the warm blood lap against her body as it steadily seeped out. The stench was overwhelming, yet she could not gag.

She briefly thought back to the scene of Sky, how it she woke in a puddle of his blood. Blake did not dare turn around, fearing she would see the sight of either Russel or Dove in a similar state.

Dust, no. Please no.

The sounds of metal against metal grew ever louder, increasing in ferocity and desperation. Whoever was left standing did not have the luxury of a scream or a grunt.

The floor shook with another thud, but the sounds of combat continued. There was a sudden wave of heat, but it was gone as soon as it appeared.

She heard a blood curdling scream, and she recognized the voice of Russel. A roar of anger followed, and the attacks doubled. That only meant that Dove was still fighting, and Russel was injured.

Blake tried to move again, to will her body into motion, but her limbs felt sluggish and heavy, as if she had an Ursa Major sitting on her body. She tried to at least wiggle her fingers, and to her dismay, only felt them twitch sightly. How long will this effect last? Long enough to get Dove and Russel killed, and for Kaa to do whatever he wanted.

She grimaced at the thought. If Kaa brought her back to the White Fang in this state, she can't even bite off her own tongue.

A sudden loud gong shook the train, vibrating through metal and ringing across the carriage. She heard muffled cursing, followed by another gong.

The sounds of combat stopped momentarily, and Blake assumes both sides were equally confused. She heard muffle shouting and cursing, and realized she knew the voice. She just could not place a finger on it. Was it White Fang? A massive crash interrupted her thoughts, the sound crisp and deafening. The entire carriage shook with the force of the blow, and she felt a sudden gust of wind enter. She heard Kaa scream in surprise and frustration, and Dove eliciting a shriek two pitches higher than his usual voice.

A new voice filled entered her ears, in the form if a thunderous roar, immediately followed by sounds of objects smashing and breaking.

'Russel! Dove!'

Wait, that voice! She would recognize the voice anywhere. After all it had been the source of Weiss's woes for a semester. It was responsible for horrendous poetry, singing and the occasional girly scream opposite team RWBY's dorm room. The clumsy team leader, Jaune Arc.

'Oh Dust, Blake!' His voice was laced with concern, and she felt arms wrap around her shoulders.

She winced at the sight as she was turned around. She looked up, and almost did not recognize Jaune. So alien, was the look of anxiousness, that she had thought him to be a different man. Or maybe it was the nose, it looked a little bit broken and he was bleeding from it. She must have looked horrendous, covered in blood. Jaune clearly gagged at the sight, or maybe it was the smell.

She was able to move her eyes, at least.

'Blake?' Jaune asked, bewildered.

Blake tried to speak, but only managed to croak. She directed her eyes down towards two deep holes in her arm, hoping Jaune follows her gaze. He did, but merely frowned at the wound.

Blake caught a glimpse of the scene unfolding over Jaune's shoulder. The squad that Dove and Russel had been fighting with, lay dead on the floor. She mentally kicked herself. Dove and Russel were merely holding them off, not willing to kill, even after seeing Sky. No wonder it was taking them so long. It was only after they thought that Kaa and slain her, did they truly realize what needed to be done.

Blake had been long desensitized to the notion of dissing out death. She did not know if this was a good thing or not.

To her surprise, the man battling Kaa was Cardin Winchester, his mace tearing holes in the walls and floors with every missed strike. Dove was weaving through Cardin's reckless assault, and taking stabs at Kaa as he retreated frantically. Then, just like that, he vanished. Both Cardin and Dove looked around, confused at what had transpired. Blake was similarly bewildered. Was that another semblance? She cursed. That fellow is a slippery bastard.

Where was Russel? Oh Dust, please let him be alive. It would weigh on her soul to know someone died because of her failure.

Her heart lifted when Russel poked his head from behind Jaune, his face coated in the blood pouring from his scalp. He did not seem to care, and was fully focused on Blake. She could see he was equally relieved when she blinked.

'She's alive!' Jaune called out to Dove, his shoulders visibly relaxed at the announcement, 'But I don't think she can move.'

'Why is that?' Dove asked as he jogged to her.

'Don't know.' Jaune replied.

'What?' Dove spat, 'What do you mean you don't know?'

'That Faunus, he did something to her,' Russel called back, 'she can't move her body at all.'

Dove crouched down beside her, panting and sweating profusely. 'You are not going to believe what just happened.'

He looked up, and Blake followed his gaze. If she could laugh, she would. Instead she settled for breathing in and out at a quicker pace. There was a massive hole, in the middle of the roof. Red leaves sifted down the hole as light spilled in, lighting up the gloomy interior. But what really caught her cracked her up was the two human shaped dents around the point of entry, the smaller dent evidently the outline of Jaune. No wonder his nose looked a bit broken. It probably broke when he landed face first into the train roof.

That was one dynamic entry, and they obviously did not get to the roof via walking. Blake wagered they were either shot through, or just simply fell, neither of which made any god damn sense.

Cardin stomped back towards the group, stepping over the dead or unconscious form of White Fang grunts to the group. He seemed very disappointed in having his enemy escape. 'He is gone.'

'Won't be the first time, boss,' Russel grinned 'Dust, it's good to see you.'

The leader if team CDRL let out a small smile, before turning his attention to Blake. His smile dropped, to be replaced by a look of contempt.

Oh she knew exactly what he saw. Russel and Dove may have overlooked her car ears for the sake of survival, but she could not say the same for Cardin. Hopefully the man would not be so thick skilled as to bring his personal conflict into this situation.

'Cardin,' Russel started, placing himself between the two, 'We might be watched.'

His attention shifted to Russel, and Blake was thankful for that. She did not felt entirely comfortable when she is currently unable to defend herself. She watched as they discussed something in hushed tones. Blake was content not to find out at the moment.

Now, where was the rest of her team? She tried to speak, to ask Jaune where Ruby, Weiss and Yang were, and was surprised when she can manage a few more words. Perhaps her Aura is finally kicking in, purging whatever venom Kaa had injected her with.

'R-r….rw…by…' She croaked, drawing the blond's attention back to her.

'They should be flying over now.' Jaune answered, looking expectantly up through the hole and into the skies.

He frowned, 'What is taking them so long.'

Blake's heart sank. Did they run into trouble? And what did Jaune mean 'flying over?'

'Oh shit.' She heard Cardin groan. Jaune looked at Cardin inquisitively.

Cardin shook his head, 'We might be watched.'

'What?'

'Russsel senses something, his Aura is going all over the place.'

'But I don't sense anything,' Jaune said, bewildered and suddenly on guard.

Russel stepped in, and shrugged, 'It is hard to explain. A gut feeling, that is all.'

'A Spook, as you call it, 'Dove grinned. 'Spook. What kind of feeling is that?'

The mohawked man flushed red, 'Shut your shit eating face, Dove.'

'Larks always said you were imaginative.' Cardin grinned too, but his grin turned into a sad smile when he remembered Sky.

He clutched his head and ran his hand over his head, blinking faster than usual. He pursed his lips and sighed, 'Sky. You massive moron.'

It the struck Blake that what she saw in front of her was what is left if team CDRL. She realized things would never be the same for them ever again. Despite what she had thought about them in the past, she genuinely wished it could have been different. While she technically did have blood on her hands after the incident at Mountain Glenn, she was once again reminded that every kill had a consequence.

The men and women of the White Fang that lay dead in this carriage had family too, but she found it hard to find sympathy in heart.

_What a vicious cycle, _she thought, as she tried to move her fingers once again.

….

Yang groaned as her muscles spasmed and screamed in protest. Her legs would not work at all, the after effects of her semblance taking a huge toll on her body. The extra fight at the end, she had pushed herself to the limit and over. If she needed two, she can still fight, but damn if it won't hurt like a bitch.

_At least the damn alarm has stopped._

Her heart rate was already normal, and her neck was painfully tight from the drawback of adrenaline. She was sure both Ren and herself have concussions. The Faunus –Adam, was it?- Had shown her how painfully out of their league the students are. When-IF- she got out of this, she was going to train her backside off.

On the bright side, together with Ren and Nora, they did drive him off, albeit barely. Ren is still alive -though missing an eye-, Nora is now with them, and Yang did not get any of her hair lopped off. It's a win in her book, despite being kicked around like a damned ball for a long while.

_Least I didn't lose an eye,_ she grimaced as she _eyed_ the male Hunter. Yang mentally kicked herself at the horrendously inappropriate use of words. But dammit there is so much potential for a pun, and she had to make them hear it one way or another. Ren is not easily offended anyway!

Ren was checking the magazine if Stormflower, both his green pistols were dull under the artificial light. She found that odd, considering he was known to polish it to a obsessive extent.

Nora sat beside Yang, her constant vigil never wavering. She took notice of Yang's discomfort, and asked. 'You alright?'

Yang nodded, then gestured towards the door, 'I will be fine, just keep watch.'

Nora mock saluted and returns to her post. She had restocked her explosives and is more than ready to blast anyone that came through the door. She now sported Ruby's massive Beacon schoolbag, stuffed with Dust, ammunition and explosives taken from each member's ammunition supply. While Ren had protested her carrying it, citing her injured shoulder, Nora would not listen.

They sat in silence, listening to the distant alarms and keeping their weapons trained on both ends of the doorway. They were more than ready to eviscerate whoever dared walk through with hostile intent.

Now? They were waiting for Yang's Aura to replenish to a reasonable amount, at least enough to last her a few hits. Yang was grateful for her semblance, as it allowed her to recover much faster than the average Aura user. She could already feel her muscles being repaired, her pain and soreness ebbing away at each passing second. Though as that happened, she felt the power gained through her semblance seep away as well, and Yang could feel her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Dammit she needed to stay awake, but honestly a few seconds of shut eye did not sound so bad right now.

Ren, while having limited Aura and stamina, was efficient in his usage, while Nora just is a damned powerhouse. What marveled Yang was that it turned out that Nora had more than a few broken ribs when she reached here, the girl's pain tolerance is through the roof.

'Nora?.' Ren called out, his voice still a little bit strained from the previous encounter, 'Is your scroll working?'

Oh yea, her scroll. She had completely forgotten about it, which is odd, considering that she usually checks it every five minutes during class, lunch, or generally whenever possible.

_Combat is one hell of a drug,_ Yang thought, as she pulled it out.

Yang flicked in her password, and her scroll unlocked. She frowned at the reception bars. Nora did likewise.

'I got nothing, Ren.' She called back.

'Yang?'

'Nope, utterly no reception whatsoever.' Yang frowned, 'Odd. I was able to use it a while back.'

'My thoughts exactly, Yang. I cannot even access my own Aura meter.'

'Someone is jamming it?' Yang asked, looking up to Ren. Ren did not look back at her, but instead maintained his watch on the door.

'Who knows? Probably.'

'Damn, they thought of everything, didn't they?'

'Devious bastards!' Nora shouted dramatically. That brought a smile to Yang's face. Nothing seems to be able to keep the hyperactive girl down.

But this is odd. They evidently went through extreme planning in this assault, this raid. Yang eyed the package suspiciously. _What could possibly be in that package to grab the attention of the White Fang?_

Not that it mattered, as far as she knows, they were not getting it whatsoever.

'So…' Yang said, desperate to keep herself from sleeping, 'what happens now?'

Nora simply shrugged. _Yea, real helpful, Nora. _

'Now, we wait.' Ren said, 'we wait for our team members to come to us.'

'And if they don't?' The words were out of her mouth before she can stop them.

Ren sighed, but did not answer. Nora started humming, as if they were out on a school trip instead of a mission going down as quick as a headless Nevermore.

Yang did not press for an answer. Instead she said, 'I think, I'm going to catch a bit of shut eye.'

'Go on ahead,' chirped Nora, 'If anything goes South, I'm sure you will hear it.'

'Just be prepared for anything.' Ren said. But Yang was already asleep.

...

**AN: Whelp, that was a thing. Any input is appreciated. Throw ideas at me if you want, because I'm still thinking of how they are going to get out!**

**Or who to kill. **

**I jokes. **


	8. Chapter 8

Whatever Ruby Rose was prepared for, it was not what she saw as she was propelled through the air along with Weiss.

She had expected hordes of Grimm making their way towards the train, attracted by the sheer amount of negativity emitted by a handful of people. There were of course, a number of Grimm. But it was a small horde of at least fifty on first glance. Ruby had soloed half the number of Beowolves before, she was sure an entire team can take care of them. That was not her primary concern.

Instead of Grimm, white uniformed figures, standing out like a sores on the red landscape greeted her. Some of them pointed, some of the simply looked on, but none of them fired. There was not a lot of them, but the fact that they were there in such numbers was worrying. Beyond the hills, she spied a small settlement in the distance, and a handful of Bullheads heading their way.

Bullheads. What could warrant the use of Bullheads? When it came down to it, she really doubted they would be able to hold flying gunships off.

She had also seen Cardin and Jaune crash face first into the roof of the train, but that was irrelevant. Their landing strategy may look stupid, but it worked. Well, sort of. Ruby laughed despite the situation.

Weiss's aim was almost spot on. At this rate, Ruby estimated they would land a carriage or two away from where Jaune landed. She saw Cardin heft his mace high in the air, and smash a hole through the roof of the carriage. Ruby though she saw glimpses of blades flashing in the inside.

They might be going in hot.

'Weiss!' Ruby shouted over the whipping air around her.

'Got it!' Ruby barely heard her reply, but the glyph appearing below her feet and her sudden deceleration was enough.

_Why didn't we use this during initiation?_ Ruby mused as she started her descent, leaping from one glyph platform to the other in an airborne ballet with her white haired partner. They spun and twirled, riding with the wind like Nevermores as they circled down onto the train. To the onlooker, the sight would have been mesmerizing. Only when their heels clicked with the metal of the train, did the glyphs vanish.

_Now to find an entrance. _Ruby contemplated using her scythe to directly dig a hole into the compartment, like Cardin did, but she was not particularly strong. The metal gong and the slight deformation as they landed on the roof indicated it was thin enough for Crescent Rose to cut through like butter.

Suddenly, she felt her skin crawl. A sense of unease overtook her as the hairs on the back of her neck pricked up. Killing intent, sharp and nauseous, swept through her senses like a tidal wave.

'Back!' She shouted at Weiss, but she was already in motion.

Ruby only had scant seconds to dash out of the way before the roof below her erupted into a fountain of shrapnel. Bullets spat up from inside the carriage, tearing through the metal with ferocity and fire rate of a machine gun. Weiss flipped back gracefully, and Ruby watched in dismay as they were both forced apart from each other to avoid getting torn apart by the hail of lead and metal. Weiss was already out of the angle of fire, and as fate would have it, the shots chose to track Ruby's footsteps instead.

A shot actually snapped against the bottom of her foot, tearing through her shoe before her aura caught the bullet. The force sent her tumbling over herself and flat into the roof. Ruby scrambled desperately out of the way, feeling more bullets strike her back and legs. Had her Aura been lower, she would have had a few extra holes to breath out of.

Activating her semblance, Ruby displaced herself, avoiding more potentially deadly shots. A lucky shot snapped her out of the air, sending her spinning to the surface once again. Ruby could feel her Aura straining to cope with the damage, and she knows she cannot last anymore hits. Ruby can only use her semblance so much, but she needed to push herself.

Ruby saw Weiss hesitate, and made to risk her skin to get to her leader. Before she could form a glyph, a Ruby yelled out to her.'No! Back!'

Without waiting for a reply, Ruby dashed off, her semblance carrying her away from the kill zone in a blink of an eye. Following along the train, she was literally on top of the engines, and without thinking, she slid in between the compartments. She panted and breathed as she checked her body for wounds. Her Aura had deflected most of the bullets, but there were going to be some very nasty bruises.

Two doors sandwiched her, one leading to the engines, another leading to the package, and ultimately, the group. If memory served, it should be Yang and Ren's shift before all hell broke loose.

_Yang… I hope she is okay._ She would not be able to bear anything happening to her sister. In fact, she doubted she could bear if anyone on her team or JNPR's being …

Ruby shook off the thought. Now is not the time.

She needed to check on her team first. If she started the engines and one of the compartments were loose, she would leave everyone behind. Memories and Mountain Glenn flashed into her mind. Back then the carriages were purposefully severed, who is to say they are not now?

She turned to the other door, and Ruby knew she needed to exercise caution. This is where the shots were coming from. Who is to say they are not waiting on the other side, ready to tear her extra holes in her body?

Steeling her will, she reached for the control panel. The sounds of a door sliding open reached her ears, but to her confusion, the door in front did not budge.

_Behind me!_ She realized, spinning around and bringing Crescent Rose to bear. There was a clack of metal, and Ruby realized that her weapon was stuck. The tight corners of the compartment catching her handle.

But she turned around just in time to see a Grimm mask, barely covering a bloodied and bruises face. She tore herself back, her scythe ready to knock the lights out of the man standing behind her, but a slight tug prevented her from doing anything. Ruby punched out, but her fists clashed off the mask, and she watched in horror as the masked man's lips split into a smile, his elongated fangs gleaming in the light.

'Peekaboo, little girl.' He giggled slightly, his words raspy and dry.

Ruby tried to pull back again, but she still was unable to. It was as if she was hooked onto..._oh no._

She felt her strength ebb away slowly as she struggled to comprehend why. A slight stinging sensation, brought her attention down to her body.

A claw, serrated edges and thousands of miniature blades glistening with fresh blood, met her eyes. Her brain immediately broke down the weapon bit by bit, deciphering its purpose and use. She noted the double edged blades and how they all hook inwards to prevent prey from escaping. She noted the infused dust canisters strapped at the wrist, possibly as a propellant or to coat the weapon in special properties. She noted the way the blades seem to squirm as it drank the lifeblood of its victims.

She noted that one of the blades fingers, was buried inside her stomach. She noticed –no – _felt, _the blades rip and tear into her insides as it curled up into the underside of her lungs. Her brain slowly registered the damage it had suffered, and like a dam breaking, a wave of white hot agony crashed against her senses. Ruby writhed and kicked against the man, but without her weapon to bear, she did almost nothing but tear the wound bigger.

Ruby Rose, began to scream.

It was not screams of terror, but pain. Never in her life had to had to endure such amounts of physical damage, and the worst she got during missions was a huge bruise or two. Her semblance kicked in, and without thinking, she propelled herself backwards.

Ruby's world exploded in a shower of stars as her head met the closed door. She gritted her teeth as she felt the offending finger rip free from her body, its hooked edges tearing away flesh and blood. She felt her warm lifeblood seep into her uniform, weighting down the low quality fabric. Her strength ebbed away as her wound burned into her senses.

_Fight or die. _Clenching her teeth and biting through the pain, she brought her weapon to bear, blocking a stab from the man's bloody claw. The weapon hissed and clacked as it transformed, and Ruby kicked out, throwing him back into the opposing door.

Crescent Rose, now folded in its rifle form, was must shorter and maneuverable. She turned her weapon, and without aiming, fired. At such a range, she did not miss.

Ruby's hearing gave out, her ears ringing at the loud discharge of the weapon. She watched the man slam back into the door, painting the metal with his innards, a fist sized hole in his chest. She watched him gasp for air, as he slid down the wall, limp and lifeless.

_Oh Dust. What did I do._

His jaws went slack, and blood drooled from his open mouth. His muscles twitched a little bit, sending spasms down body as the brain finally registered that it had died.

Ruby's legs felt weak, and her stomach churned. The pain had dulled, but she wondered if this was a good thing. At this moment, she did not care. Ruby looked away from the dead man. She did what she had to do. He would have killed her otherwise.

She reached for the door controls. She had to regroup, and she really did not fancy dying at all. Not alone, at least.

But she couldn't shake the sinking feeling in her gut. _I just murdered a man. _

There was a light hissing sound, and Ruby spun back, her weapon at the ready.

She immediately regretted her decision. Ruby gasped as the corpse in front of her started to shrivel. Its skin started to peel back, and the death scream slowly curled into a death smile. Blood coagulated and dried, evaporating into red stains on the metal of the train. Bit by bit, layer by layer, flesh withered away, drying and flaking off as time eagerly clawed at it. Soon, there was nothing left but a few shards of bone, for the majority had already evaporated into dust.

That was not normal, and Ruby had to fight to tear her eyes away from the spot. She needed to hurl, but she also needed to keep moving. The man posed no threat now.

Before her fingers brushed the controls, the door slid open. Ruby looked up, in time to see a roaring chainsaw descend upon her head.

Ruby kicked back, and by luck or sheer timing, the gnashing blades missed by a hairs breath. It had been so close, close enough for her to feel the whirring blades skin the very tip of her nose.

Working the bolt of Crescent Rose, she swung her weapon around to fire. However before her finger even touched the trigger, it was swatted aside. Pieces of red metal flew as the chain weapon met the side of Ruby's scythe, and Ruby roared at the sight of such desecration. Her strength returned as she forgot about her wound. She felt light headed as adrenaline pumped through her body. Desperation turned to anger, blotting out any forms of pain and fatigue.

However, her anger was short lived. With a squeak of surprise, she ducked under another roaring strike, aimed to take her head.

_Duel wielder! _

Ruby propelled her legs forwards and into her attacker's stomach, driving the assailant back before another blow was struck.

Space. Ruby needed space to utilize her speed. She crouched, Crescent Rose unfolding clunkily as damaged metal ground against each other.

Ruby launched herself out, and into the darkness of the next train carriage, her strength and will renewed. Her target, -definitely a woman- was already upon her, and she nearly blanched at the ferocious weapons wielded.

Two massive axes, their haft as long as Ruby's torso, clashed off Ruby's scythe, chain teeth kicking up sparks in the gloom. The blades were as wide her fists, designed to scoop and tear through chunks of enemy flesh.

They were not alone. A handful of White Fang members were also present, their guns pointed against the two figures locked in melee combat.

The figure beat away a scythe strike, and swung at Ruby's neck. At the last millisecond, she tore down, slipping Ruby's guard and tearing into her defenses.

It was not a solid strike, but the whirling blades meant flesh would cut and rend no matter the force. Ruby grimaced, biting back a scream as the blades tore a ragged scrap off her inner thigh.

Ruby jinxed back, feeling her Aura flicker as it clawed at whatever reserve it had in store. Her wounds would stop bleeding at least, but she did not know how many more hits she can take.

Pressing her advantage, the masked figure leapt after her. More blows rained in – hard, heavy and earth shaking. Ruby sped in between the blows, barely able to avoid the fury directed at her. Using Crescent Rose like a halberd, Ruby smashed the hilt into the attacker's midriff. A surge of defiance powered her attacks, as her mind blanked out her screaming wounds and pumped her body with adrenaline.

'Go away!' She screamed, her weapon scything through the air only to be deflected brutally by the axes. Her blade tore into the metal walls of the carriage, ripping though the material as if it's wet paper. Ruby pulled out her blade, using the back of her scythe to deter any follow up attacks.

To her surprise, her attacker dodged back, as if to allow something, or someone to pass over her head. Ruby's answer came in the form of pommel strike to the face. The attack came out of nowhere, and for a fraction of a second, she was blinded and dazed. Out of sheer instinct, she brought the haft of her weapon up, in time to deflect a blow. Instead of a bone juddering impact, the attack was precise and fast.

She did not need for the stars in her vision to clear before knowing she now faced two opponents. She caught a glimpse of a red haired man- a half mask obscuring his eyes- strike at her again with a sword variation of the chain axes.

Back flipping out of the way, Ruby slammed her blade into the ground, pulling her to a stop. She landed, and with a snarl, chambered a new bullet into her sniper rifle.

She fired down the confined space, cycling the bolt as fast as her little but practiced hands could. Her gun was painfully loud, and the gigantic muzzle flashes blinded her every time she pulled the trigger. Her ears rang and her winced every time the recoil kicked into her body. The bullets tore into the gathered crowd, punching through cover and slamming into Aura protected bodies.

The chain bladed duo cursed and dodged back, deflecting the massive bullets with speed and skill that spoke of years of practice.

Ruby knew she needed to think of something, and fast. She would need to reload soon, and when that happened-

Her thoughts were cut short by a sharp crack. As she ducked, something hissed by her ear, like an angry mosquito.

_Oh yeah, they have guns too_. Ruby mentally kicked herself for getting so caught up by the two that she neglected the other White Fang soldiers. Pulling out her weapon with a twirl, Crescent Rose blocked the incoming bullets, deflecting them into the ceiling and walls. Ruby quickly eyed her surrounding, looking for any cover she could find. Her mind despaired when she could see nothing that would stop the high velocity pieces of metal from tearing her to bits.

Seeing as she would be a threat no longer, the melee duo turns their backs away from Ruby, and- along with a few other people- vanished in thin air. Perhaps Ruby was too occupied by her current situation, for the sight failed to surprise her at all. Had she been in any other situation, she would have felt suspicious and insulted. Only four remained, and they were not letting up.

She flung herself forwards, her semblance throwing off their aim. She crashed the blunt of her scythe into the head of a Faunus, knocking the daylight a out of him. Without stopping, she sped into the midriff of another, barreling him into the wall.

Her Aura spiked, and she immediately kicked up from behind. Her feet connected with a a rifle, just in time to redirect the shots. Bullets tore through the already tattered roof, and hunks of metal and plastic rained down upon them.

She swung her scythe around, and pinned the rifle of the woman into the wall before lashing her feet into the side of her head.

Her right shoulder flared as she felt something tear through it. It was like having a hot piece of iron embedded into her muscles. Ruby tore out her scythe and charged at the attacker. Bullets missed her by centimeters as the Faunus struggled to compensate for her speed.

Ruby slid in-between and through the legs of the Faunus, tripping her with Crescent Rose. Ruby followed up by a whack to the back of the downed woman's head.

Even now, she had subconsciously used the blunt of her weapon. Even now she was not willing to kill. The White Fang did not offer her the same courtesy.

Two of them were not down yet, having recovered from Ruby's attack. They advanced, their guns blazing as they all focused their firepower on her, Ruby found her muscles aching from the exertion. It was like trying to stop raindrops from hitting her body, there was just so many it was impossible.

Ruby felt a bullet tear itself through her shin, stumbling her with the impact. She yelped out as she fell to her knees. It was over, she braced herself for the inevitable onslaught that would ultimately end her short life. She reached out, a desperate plea to stop the soldiers.

'Please!' Ruby cried, but she knew it was too late.

'Stop!' Another voice cried out.

A bullet skinned the length of her outstretched arm. Another tore a chunk out of her left ear. She felt her hips shatter under the impact of another round.

'Stop! Fucking stop shooting!' She did not hear who said that. As of right now, she had reached her limit.

Ruby collapsed into the ground, her vision dimming through her tear filled eyes. Her Aura pulsed faintly, attempting to close her wounds and stop the bleeding. It did work, but she doubted she would be alive for long.

Miraculously, the bullets did not continue.

She heard the thud of boots, and lazily turned her head to face the enemy. She tried to lift her scythe, but her strength had left her ever since the first shot bit home.

She felt hands lift her head up, and she openly wept as the pain jolted through her like electric. She did not care anymore, she just wanted this nightmare to end. What a fool she was to think this would end any other way. Trapped in an enclosed corridor outnumbered and out gunned? The fight was over before it even began.

Something wet hit her face, and through get obscured vision, she glanced up. A snarling Grimm mask glared back at her, but she felt no malice, no hostile intent.

Only sadness.

The Faunus looking down on her, was crying.

'Oh Monty above.' She heard him whisper, his voice choked and raspy, 'She is kid.'

Ruby felt hands wipe away her tears and brush aside stray strands of her hair. _They are just like us,_ Ruby thought. It was not like she did not know, but she was reminded that humans and faunus alike, were creatures with souls.

'Why do you care? She is a human!' A female called out.

The grip on her tightened, 'She can't be older than my sister. Oh Dust. Adam did not say shit about this.'

'She's a killer, Lan.'

'She could have easily offed us earlier.'

'That doesn't change anything! We have our orders.' The female voice spat, 'Now move aside. I'll kill her myself.'

'Shiroi, what is wrong with you? We are here to fight, yes, but not against chil-'

Ruby flinched at the sudden gunshot and she felt warm liquids splatter across her face. The man's hold loosened and he collapsed onto Ruby. Through her blurry vision, she caught a glimpse of the Faunus as he fell sideways, gore leaking from the side of his head.

'Sympathizing traitor.' The woman spat, and kicked the corpse off Ruby. She felt a sudden impact, directly into her shattered hipbone. The pain brought sudden clarity to the world, and Ruby howled as her senses amplified. She curled into a ball, but another kick sent her sprawling.

Her breath was suddenly cut off as she felt a foot stamp into her neck. Her cloak did little to elevate the pressure. Ruby clawed weakly at the boot pinning her throat. She did not want to die.

Ruby stared up, into the still smoking barrel of the rifle. The snarling Grimm mask stares down at her, but this time, it was different. Blood splattered across the white surface, and a contemptuous sneer adorned the face of the woman.

'Die.'

…..

'Ren?'

'I hear it, Nora.' Ren answered, suddenly tensing up. He rose from his position and made his way to Nora. They are going to need the firepower.

Nora nodded, and was set in edge even more. They had all heard it, gunshots coming from the other room. A slight snore brought Nora's attention to a certain sleeping blond. Despite the situation, Nora grinned. The temptation to shove her fingers up her nose was too damn high.

'Nora, just wake her.'

She pouted. As much as she loved Ren, he can be such a bore. 'You're no fun.'

As a general rule, never wake a Hunter by shaking them on the arm, unless they wished to have a few missing teeth. It was drilled into them, and soon became instinct as they embarked on more and more missions. Nora tugged Yang on the leg, rousing her from her brief but blissful slumber.

'Wha..?' Yang mumbled, blinking the sleep away from her eyes.

'Gunfire,' Ren said simply, grimacing as he said so. Nora barely suppressed a shudder. The sight of Ren was discomforting, least to say. His face was a mess of blood, and his remaining magenta eye seemed to glow. The wound obviously hurt, and she couldn't bear to see Ren in such a state.

She winced as she brought her grenade launcher to bear. Her injuries were sore at best, and her Aura could only do so much.

_This day sucks,_ she decided. She needed pancakes.

There was a sudden screech of metal, the entire carriage rattled and juddered. It was like an earthquake, and Nora struggled to keep her footing.

'What the fu-?' Yang started, jumping out of her seat.

The door warped, and moaned, and for a moment, Nora dreaded what was coming for them.

With a loud bang, and a force that lifted them off their feet, the door exploded off its hinges and into the compartment. A blur of red shot through the door, trailing behind a vortex of objects and people.

'Shit!' Yang spat, as she backed away.

It took Nora a few heartbeats to remember that this has happened before. During JNPR's intense food fight with RWBY, the entire team was thrown into the wall in a vortex of food and drinks.

Only now, it was not pieces of chicken and bread flying at them, but crates and a few screaming Faunus in tow.

In the chaos, she spotted a certain red cloak, spinning at velocities only achievable through Semblance usage. It tore through the air, leaving a trail of red as she cannoned through the carriage.

And straight into Nora.

She heard Yang scream her sister's name, and instinctively Nora lowered her weapon, bracing herself to catch Ruby in an embrace. Steeling her mind and pumping Aura into her body and arms, Nora braced herself for the inevitable impact.

_This is going to suck._

It was like catching a charging Boartusk, and Nora was blasted back by the impact. The charge carried her into the air for a few milliseconds, just enough for her to redirect the momentum down. Her feet slammed into the floor she shot into the ground, and Nora dug her heels into the floor board, her shoes smoking with friction as she fought against Ruby's momentum. She saw Ren and Yang flying by her, carried by the gust of wind. She did not have time to worry about them now.

As soon as Nora broke to a stop, she threw herself on the ground, over Ruby. The entire train shook and lurched as its interior was torn apart by the force. So much so, Nora realized the world was tilting. Metal yawned and moaned as its structural integrity was pushed to the very limits.

Keeping her hold on Ruby, who was oddly quiet during the entire ordeal, she kicked off the floor as the carriage turned sideways, toppling shelves and crates onto the trapped students below.

Transforming Magnhild into a hammer, Nora swung up, batting aside and destroying anything that threatened to crush them. The train screamed and moaned, and in a shriek of tortured metal, it crashed fully onto its side.

Miraculously, Nora was unscathed. One hand clutching Ruby and the other holding Magnhild, Nora blinked away her confusion.

_Did that seriously just happen?_

She looked down upon the red clacked figure held in her hands, feeling something wet against her hands.

Only then did Nora realize her hands were covered in blood. Fresh, sticky and warm, Nora gasped when she realized it was Ruby's. Ruby was deathly pale, and if Nora had not felt her chest rise and fall, she would have thought Ruby was dead.

There was a crash of metal as piles of debris was shifted aside. Nora spun around, Magnhild at the ready. A figure rose from the mess of broken crates and bent metal. Nora relaxed when she saw the distinctive silhouette of her partner.

'Nora! Yang!' Ren called out, his voice strained.

'I'm fine!' Nora shouted back.

'Over here!' Yang's voice was muffled, and Nora searched frantically around or the source of the voice.

'Oh Dust. Get me the fuck out of here!' Yang suddenly screamed. She was panicking. For what reason, Nora could only guess. Hammer blows rung out underneath a certain wreck, followed by the distinctive clanking of Ember Celia's shotgun.

Nora gently set Ruby down as Ren started lifting objects away from Yang's general direction. Nora joined in the effort, though it was not needed. With a roar, Yang blasted off the last of the debris, nearly taking off Ren's head in the process.

Ren turned to reprimand the blond, but stopped when she climbed out of the wreckage her face pale and her eyes wide in fear. A massive lock of her hair was drenched in blood, and Nora peered down into the wreckage where Yang was laying earlier out of morbid curiosity.

There lay the remains of someone. Nora could not tell the gender, but whatever it was, it was very _very_ dead. The Faunus was annihilated, for the lack of a better word. It had been crushed, and only half it's torso attached to a leg remained. Even then, the spine was twisted in a very wrong angle. Blood still pumped from the decimated body, pooling up in the small confines of where Yang had been trapped.

Yang knelt on the ground, and heaved the contents of her stomach out. Soon she was wrenching out bile, and even Ren turned away, looking slightly greener than normal.

The sight and smell also caused Nora's bile to rise and for a moment she too was about to vomit. Unlucky fuck, not even Aura could have saved the person. The fact that Yang and Ren had come out relatively unscathed was very lucky indeed.

_Sorry friend, your luck was with us today. _She mock saluted the dead body.

'Ruby!' Yang cried out, and Nora's attention was snapped back to the red mess behind her. Yang, despite the bile dribbling over her mouth, had rushed over to her sister, and was now cradling her in her arms.

'Oh Dust, what the hell happened?' Yang muttered quickly under her breath, 'Talk to me, Ruby!'

Only then, did she realize the extent of Ruby's injuries. Her uniform was a few shades darker than it should be, stained with her blood. Though numerous cuts and holes adorned Ruby's uniform, most were deflected or healed by Aura. However the more telling wounds were obvious to see.

Her arm was evidently hit, a shallow strip running along her forearm where a bullet had skimmed across. The edges of her hips were obviously hit, a side of the pelvis shattered by the impact. Her left ear was missing completely, along with her right pinky finger. A sizable hole, above her left knee, had been shredded off. Suddenly, the ragged hole in Nora's shoulder seemed insignificant and negligible.

Nora could feel the rage building up inside Yang. It was infectious. She suddenly felt tense, and she unwittingly bared her teeth as fury clawed at her soul.

'Ren!' Nora snarled, gesturing with her head. However her friend was already making his way to Ruby. His talent for Aura manipulation was desperately needed.

Yang growled, her voice choked and heavy. Tears ran freely from her eyes as she gritted her teeth, trying to contain a howl. Yang nearly lashed out at Ren when he tried to pry Ruby from her arms. Nora did not blame her, nor did Ren seem to react, perhaps not seeing it. Almost immediately, Ren's hand started glowing pink as he pumped and transferred some of his Aura into Ruby.

Nora could see the hate in his eyes too.

How dare they… How _DARE_ they?

Whatever hesitation, sympathy and doubt she had was cast aside, crushed under the boiling furnace of fury churned in her soul. Someone needed to die.

As if on queue, Nora's Aura quivered as she felt the killing intent of several unlucky people outside. They were in combat with someone. That information was all they needed.

Yang felt this too, and slowly rose from her kneeling position.

She shot a look at Nora, her eyes blazing red, a feral snarl across her face. No doubt she was already seeing red.

Nora was sure her expression mirrored that of Yang's. They were both raring for blood. Monty have mercy on the poor souls standing on the other side of the train, for they shall not.

…..

**AN: A bit shorter than the usual, i think. Usual, comment, critique. Help me out here! D: **


	9. Chapter 9

Weiss twisted away, dancing under a sword aimed for her head. With a practiced flick, she stabbed and disarmed the raging Faunus. Lunging and sliding her elegant blade into his flesh, the man howled as Myrtenaster punched though soft tissue and nerve clusters. Finally, finishing her move, she stabbed at the man's chest. The thin blade slipped through the man's ribs, bypassing flesh and blood, and straight into his heart.

Weiss did not wait to see if Aura saved the man. Summoning her glyph, she cannoned the masked man away, over the heads of his charging comrades.

She was having a really bad day. Having the mission go haywire was bad enough. Sky- Monty rest his soul- was killed in an ambush. She did not know the condition Blake nor Yang, and Ruby was injured and now separated from each other.

Not only that, Weiss nearly avoided being crushed under a train. Had she not used her semblance, she very well might have ended up as red paste on the wrong side of the carriage. Now to top it all off, she was met by a squad of White Fang, baying for her blood.

She was sure they recognized her, how could they not recognize a Schnee?. Had she not erected a domed barrier around herself, she would have been cut to bits by the snipers. Weiss had been lucky they had stopped shooting and decided to come into melee, for each shot against the barrier drained her Aura. Judging by the ferocity and commitment of their attacks, they really wanted her dead. There was probably already a nice prize for whoever claimed the head of Schnee.

A lesser man might have given up. When faced with such odds, some will curl up and accept their fate. But Weiss was no lesser man. Her will was iron, her resolve unwavering. She will face the threat head on.

They came, more than a dozen of them, baying her blood as they charged the lone girl. Once the barrier was dispelled, they were expecting a dainty little lamb ready for the inevitable slaughter. Instead, they found a Beowolf ready to tear their throats out_._

Myrtenaster clicked as it cycled to its Ice Dust chamber. Her weapon was a magnificent dueling blade. One on one, she could change her direction of attack in a blink, have the reach and speed that would give her the edge against any single opponent.

However, against a mob of angry Fanus- No, _monsters,_- brandishing swords and guns, her advantage was slightly….lessened. However, she would damn well kill and maim as much as she humanly could before they…

She did not want to think about it. Weiss will bite off her own tongue instead of allowing herself to be captured alive. She will not suffer the humiliation, nor will she allow them the satisfaction.

The Faunus at the front shot his pistol and lunged at her, swinging his sword up with his left hand. Myrtenaster batted the whizzing slug away and flew directly into her opponent's throat.

The Faunus stumbled back, chocking and gurgling as a block of ice cut off his windpipe. The next person simply leapt past her comrade, firing wildly as she prepared to swing her blade. Weiss grunted as a bullet smashed into her chest, spinning her back and leaving a shallow bloody hole in her uniform. Riding with the momentum, Weiss thrusted. The blade went straight into the barrel of the weapon, shearing it in two and cut a bloody swath into the Faunus's arm. She howled as the ice cold blade froze her torn muscles and bone, and with a flick of Myrtenaster, her arm shattered into hail of frozen flesh.

She dropped to the ground, the shock of the wound silencing her forever.

Undeterred, the Faunus swarmed Weiss, hacking and slashing wildly. She deflected and parried each blow, countering with lightning fast jabs that rend flesh and froze blood. However, slowly but surely, she was being forced back.

Weiss snarled as she deflected a thrust and parried two more attacks. Her opportunity to attack lessened considerably against such odds. Ganged up and outnumbered, the only thing saving Weiss was the lack of skill each Faunus displayed. Weiss was small, but her training had made her nimble. Her opponents had no technique, but their ferocity and robbed her of any advantages she may have.

At this range, at this ferocity, Weiss was unable to bring her semblance to bear. A single misstep earned her a deep gash across her sword arm. A moment's lapse in focus embedded a dagger in her shoulder. Though her Aura made it negligible by her standards, it would not be long before her wounds stopped healing altogether.

Her blade was smashed aside, leaving her wide open to another attack. Her thin weapon quivered from the impact but Myrtrnaster's steel was strong. Weiss summoned a glyph directly below her attacker, and launched him high in the sky. Gravity will take care of the rest.

Weiss snapped sideways, and delivered a quick blow into her opponent's exposed flank, freezing the man's organs as her blade punched deep into his gut. Before she could pull out the blade, Weiss blacked out briefly as a blow to her head shook her world. Snarling with contempt, she deflected the follow up blow with a flick of her aura and- with strength that belied her size, smashed the man still skewered to her blade into the attacker.

None of the blows she received went unanswered. The screaming and howling lay amongst the silent, a trail of eight bodies leading to the furious melee. Four got up to rejoin the fight, wounded but alive, the other four lay in the red leaves, motionless or nursing forever damaged limbs.

Weiss dodged and parried, thrust and jabbed. Her form remained perfect despite the various cuts she received. Her aim remained true despite the blood in her eyes. Wounds of which she did not remember receiving dribbled freely with blood as she fought on. Her uniform, now soaked in her own blood, became heavy and awkward.

Another thrust, this time through the eye slits of a mask. The Faunus went limp without a sound. In return, Weiss felt a blade hack into her ribs, only to clash off her ribcage. She disengaged by instinct, jumping back to avoid any follow up attacks.

But her back bumped against the weatherproof metal of the train.

She was cornered, no where to run, no where to hide.

End of the line.

Not long now. She could sense it. _They _could feel it. Fatigue gnawed at her bones and lactic acid burned in her muscles. Fire screamed in her wounds and blood clouded her vision. Myrtenaster slipped through the defenses of another Faunus, encasing the woman's kneecap in ice. A vicious sideways tear ensure she would not walk for life. Her attack allowed another blow to slip through, but this time, it nearly took her arm entirely.

Weiss fell to her knees silently, clutching her bloodied arm. She would not scream, even as tears flowed freely from her eyes. The remaining Faunus howled in victory, as they began mercilessly hacking at her fallen form. Her Aura was already dangerously low, further usage carries the risk of death. But at this point, she was dead anyway.

Snarling, Weiss projected her Aura outwards. Although she had not nearly as proficient with the technique as Lie Ren, it would save her from a few more blows. The force of her Aura pushed her attackers back slightly.

They would not get the satisfaction of her screams. Weiss fought to stand, refusing to die on her knees. She would face her enemies- the monsters that had caused her family so much pain and grief- on her feet. She would stand proud like a Schnee, even in the face of defeat. Her body burned with wounds, and her soul felt like it was being torn out of her body. Such was the price of overextending her Aura.

A kick struck against her knees, and Weiss was forced down to the ground once again. Weiss was yanked forwards, and she did the best she could to shield herself from the rain of kicks and stamps.

The animals cheered and jeered as they lay into Weiss, years of hate against the Schnee Dust Company unleashed upon her defenseless form. Bones broke, flesh bruised, and blood flowed. Weiss was curled up in a fetal position, her wounds painfully obvious against her pale skin. She did even let out a squeak.

Finally, she was yanked up by her injured arm, and forced to kneel. She snarled as her head was pulled back by her hair, and she felt the cold touch of a blade around her throat.

Biting through the pain, she spat out words she had long wished to say. It was unladylike and brutish, but right now, she saw little use in courtesy.

'Fuck you.'

The Faunus smiled savagely, exposing sharp fangs belonging to a carnivore.

'Burn in hell, bi-'

He did not get to finish the sentence.

There was boom, deafeningly loud, and her executioner was pulled back. He shrieked and cursed as he collided with the train, but was cut short when his head impacted against the metal. He tried to pull back, but was smashed against the surface once again, denting the area.

_Gong_

_Gong_

_Gong_

Three more impacts, and the man fell limp. His body slid down like a puppet with its strings cut, leaving a massive trail of blood and brain matter. A fist sized hole adorned the surface of the train, lighting into the dark interior. A pair of eyes, the glowing crimson, glared out at the crowd of Faunus.

Weiss allowed herself a smile and a rare chuckle, before slumping to the ground. The red leaves embraced her as she relaxed into the ground. The kids gloves are off, albeit a little bit late.

Weiss knew who stood behind her, and she took comfort in the fact that no matter how seriously she was injured. It would not compare to the world of hurt Yang Xiao Long had in store.

….

_Break them. _

Yang Xiao Long was an easy woman to anger. Her explosive temper was only matched by her explosive semblance, but Yang was not unreasonable except when it came to a few things.

1) Her hair.

2) Her family.

3) Her friends.

The White Fang had just pressed two out of three berserk buttons and proceeded to mash the buttons until they were broken. These Grimmspawn have just signed their own death warrant, and it was not going to be pretty. Before she felt fear and uncertainty when facing Adam, but now she only felt fury. Her previous wounds seemed to vanish, and her fatigue evaporated. She did not care that her Aura was not even half full. Against scum like these, she did not need it. Rage was one hell of an anesthetic.

Nora swung her hammer, blowing the train wide open. Yang was out a split second later, emerging through smoke and fire, and living up to her name, her glowing red eyes leaving a trail as she thundered out and into the dumbstruck enemy.

_Dragon_.

To the surprised Faunus, it looked like a demon had tore through the fabrics of reality. Red eyed, flaming and breathing smoke and fire, Yang smashed into the stunned crowd, Ember Celia roaring.

She planted a foot into the white mask, feeling it crunch and shatter under the impact. Driving the screaming figure straight into the ground, Yang lash out, left and right, breaking ribs and shattering jaws. Those who's Aura had been depleted beforehand, were killed outright as entire chunks were blown out of their bodies.

Yang took a bullet willingly, feelings it crease the side of her cheek, to land a blow of her own. Hers was more telling. The unfortunate Faunus's jaw was crushed in the direct impact, going straight into his face. Yang tried to pull her fist out, but it was adhered into the man's remaining face. A shot from Ember Celia send the now headless body flying overhead. Her aura screamed inside her, and Yang instinctively dropped low, just as a blade flew across the where her head had been. She felt it slightly brush against her hair.

Reason left her completely.

Grabbing hold of the sword hand, Yang yanked the Faunus into her punch, shotgun going off again and again point blank as she held the doomed man in place.

By the second punch, Yang threw a severed arm away as she lay into the squirming Faunus. By the fifth, half his body was gone. Yang did not avoid the blood splattering over her body. She did not even feel the sword slash across her back, tearing through her Aura and splitting open her flesh.

With a roar, Yang spun around, her fists connected with the blade coming in for another strike. The blade snapped in two.

The Faunus backed away, disbelief etched onto her face when she realized how much she fucked up. Yang would have laughed if she was not so intent on the destruction of her foes.

There was a blur of silver, and the Faunus simply vanished.

Yang blinked, briefly snapped out of her blood fueled rage, for even the little sun dragon was awed at the wrath of the Valkyrie. Nora flew in, Magnhild smashing away people like they were bowling pins. Broken bodies flew, flung up into the air by the violent impacts. A halo of pink light surrounded her as Nora laughed, lost in the joy of battle.

'Off with their heads!' She shrilled, her hammer spun and twirled. Crushed and smashed. This was beyond a normal desperate fight. This was beyond simply taking the enemy's life. This was retribution.

None of these people had developed their Auras, unlike the man she faced with Ren. The enemy reeled from the sudden and relentless assault. They were but a handful against two of the most promising Hunters in training the Beacons's first years had to offer. The fight was over before it even began.

It was a massacre. They slew the enemies with fire and explosions as the, two avatars of destruction turned the tide of battle. Less than a handful remained, the rest were wiped out in a span of seconds.

Morale broken and losses suffered beyond belief, the White Fang ran. The two girls did not give chase.

They did not get far.

A storm of lead tore into their backs, whittling down their feeble aura at a ferocious rate.

Lie Ren strolled in casually, Stormflower blazing in his hands. Though not as awe inspiring as the two ladies, the precision and cold efficiency displayed was unnerving. When one gun clicks dry, the other keeps firing. Mechanically, he moved his sights onto the next target, delivering an accurate and constant stream of fire into the back of the Faunus. No prisoners, no survivors. Ren's face remained unchanged as he slaughtered running men and women without blinking.

'Rest in fucking pieces.' Yang spat.

The silence afterwards, was deafening. Nora fell back into her grass, sighing in exhaustion. Ren ran over to Nora, checking for any wounds she might have suffered in her rampage.

However she felt about the situation beforehand, Yang could not shake the sick feeling in her gut.

Not because it felt wrong, but it felt so _right. _

…..

'Holy shit.' Russel muttered.

Holy shit did not even cover it. Jaune thought, surveying the scene in front of him. He felt Blake gasp weakly on his back as she saw the scene too. A bloody but alive Weiss sat, leaned against the overturned train with a motionless Ruby laying on her lap. Nora, Yang and Ren had formed a lazy half circle around the two, and Nora whistled as soon as she saw them.

Bodies, over a dozen of them, lay strewn across the red field. Motionless, and torn to pieces. Blood mingled with the red leaves of Forever Fall, staining the earth further red. Yet there was a stark beauty in an otherwise haunting scenery.

Jaune was utterly shocked by the massacre that took place. The blood, the smell, it was worse than motion sickness. On the other hand, he felt angry. Weiss was injured, and Ruby looked like she was dead. The only signs that Ruby was alive was the fact that she stirred a little bit as Weiss brushed her hair aside. He felt relief. Relief of seeing his friends again, and deep down inside, relieved to know this was an act of self defense. But, there was a bitter aftertaste lingering in his mouth that he just could not get rid of.

Or that could be his bile rising.

Jaune forced it down, and made his way to the group.

'Monty, what on remnant happened to you guys?' Dove asked, and Jaune took a moment to register just how wounded they were.

'Ren, report!' Jaune called out as he strode towards his team.

Nora wore a toothy smile, despite the massive shoulder wound. Yang was covered in blood, though upon further inspection it did not seem to belong to her. She frowned at the sight if Blake on Jaune's back, and opened her mouth to ask. But she was too slow.

'Oh shit, Ren!' Jaune gasped, 'Your eye!'

'You alright?' Russel asked, before he could stop. Russel slapped his forehead when he realized it was a very stupid question. Of course he wasn't. He's one eye short, for Oum's sake.

The black haired man grimaced, subconsciously touching his ruined eye at the statement. He didn't say anything for a moment but managed a 'I'll live.'

'Tactful.' Weiss snorted from her seated position.

'Glad to see you are still healthy enough to run your mouth, Ice princess.'

'Stuff it, Winchester.' Weiss snapped, but she had a slight smile on her face. 'Glad to see some of us is having a better day than others.'

Her eyes fell on Blake. 'Blake? Oh Dust what did they do to you?'

'Blake here seems to be paralyzed, at least temporarily.' Cardin said quickly when Team RWBY began to pale, 'Otherwise she's better than most of you.'

Judging by the multiple faint scars present on Weiss, and the tears in her uniform, she might as well have been rolling in glass. But it did not detract from her looks, in fact, it made her look more dangerous.

'What happened to Ruby?' Dove asked, and Jaune felt Blake tense on his back.

'Heavily wounded, but still breathing.' Ren informed, 'transferred some of my Aura to her, so she's stable.'

His face darkened, 'But we need to get out of here. Ruby is strong but I do not know how long she will last without proper attention.'

'She will be fine.' Weiss said, her usual arrogance lacking, 'As you said, she is strong.'

'She should have woke up by now,' Nora sighed, 'she must have taken a lot of bullets.'

Weiss just nodded silently, as she wrapped Ruby's cloak around her partner, a makeshift blanket. Her uniform was ripped and torn with bullet holes and blade wounds. 'Give her some time.'

'Our injuries seem to be superficial, nothing Aura cannot heal over time.' Russel said as he scratched his half ear, 'Well, maybe apart for this.'

'And this.' Ren smiled slightly, tapping under his eye.

'Show off.' Russel laughed, though it was strained with awkwardness.

Nora frowned, scanning the group.

'What is wrong, Nora?' Ren asked.

'W-where is Sky?'

There was a moments silence, and team CDRL tensed at the question.

Dove started, though he seemed unsure of how to say it, 'Larks…he…'

'He is dead.' Cardin said flatly, though his expression was anything but.

There was a moments silence as the words sank in. Nora's smile fell, and an uncharacteristic sadness took over her face. Weiss opened her mouth to speak, but closed it a moment later as there was nothing to say without it sounding meaningless and empty. Ren, stoic as ever, but his lips and nodded, offering a silent prayer for his acquaintances's soul. Yang looked away, blinking rapidly.

'Shit, sorry guys.' She muttered.

'Not your fault. And besides,' Cardin gestured to the fallen Faunus, 'you have avenged him tenfold.'

Dove and Russel glanced at each other uneasily, but Cardin did not seem to take notice. Jaune gave Blake a squeeze, and he felt her nudge him a little bit though he was not sure what she meant.

In any case, they have not reported in for the last god knows how long. Perhaps someone will notice and send help. The system was simple. Every 30 or so minutes they are to report in via their scrolls back to Beacon. If they failed to do so, Beacon will assume something is wrong and send a team to their last known location.

They did not have the chance to radio for help, so they probably just need to sit it out.

And take the burn if the incoming Grimm horde or the fury of the White Fang reinforcements. Neither of which sounded great.

'Alright guys,' Jaune started, 'let's get back into the carriage. We need to form defensive perimeter ASAP.'

'Hold on a minute, why are we still doing this?' Russel asked, bewildered at Jaune.

'Where do you want to run to, Thrush?' Ren asked, 'We have nowhere to go.'

Cardin sighed, and hefted his mace. 'Trapped and cut off. Day keeps getting better.'

'They will have to notice us missing anyway.' Nora agreed, 'Ozzypin would send help.'

Jaune felt Blake move, but it was not just position adjustment. She thrashed and turned to the best of her abilities, and Jaune was forced to ask despite knowing she couldn't answer. It was like she was agitated. Her ears were twitching rapidly.

'Blake?'

'Oh come on,' Yang threw Blake a frown, 'What's the worst that could happen?'

'I dunno,' Dove began, 'Throw in some Grimm and a few gunships and we'll be good to go.'

'Dove I fucking swear if you say shit like that…' Russel began, waving his blades at his friend, 'I'll fucking…'

He didn't get to finish before his ears picked up something. Jaune heard it too, a distant whirring that was almost drowned out by the mild winds. They were like a distant thunder rolling in.

This could mean two things. Either Beacon has dispatched teams to pick them up, or the White Fang has some serious firepower. It was way to early for Beacon to reach them in time, therefore it could only mean one thing.

'Gunships.' Ren murmured, his eyes widened as he scanned the skies.

'Oh you HAVE to be joking!' Dove roared, while Russel threw him a look that could have blasted a hole through him.

They scrambled for cover, Yang hoisting up Ruby's limp form while Ren helped Weiss up much to her complaints. Jaune sighed, and briefly considered picking up a gun and shooting himself in the head. Least that would save Monty the trouble of trying to kill him.

There was a flash, and Jaune's world disappeared in a storm of dust and fire.

Those who controlled the skies controlled the battlefield. Nora remembered reading that somewhere. Ren probably said it a few times, being the bookworm he is.

As of right now, she certainly could see why.

For all their training against dealing with the likes of Nevermores and other airborne Grimm, it did not really compare to a few metal beasts spitting down red hot death on you and your friends.

The train offered little cover, as the massive dust filled bullets made Swiss cheese out of the metal carriage. Monty preserve them. She now knew what it will be like facing down the wrong end of Coco's minigun.

There was a howl, and her blood ran cold. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dove Bronzewing get hit. For a split second, time slowed down.

Nora saw with perfect clarity, the moment Dove died. It would be burned into her memory forever. The first shot hit him in the arm, and the severed limb spun away, a trail of blood squirting as it went. Dove's eyes widened, as much as it would physically allow, unable to comprehend what happened. The second shot gutted him from behind, his entrails visibly torn from the body before soil and leaves kicked up from the impact covered the gory view. He turned his head, and Nora caught his gaze. Dove opened his mouth to say something or to scream. But it never came.

The rest of the shots tore into Dove mercilessly, and there was little of him left when the final shreds of the body hit the ground. Even at his best, Dove's Aura could not have withstood that.

'DOVE!' Cardin shrieked, stopping in his tracks. Nora slammed into Cardin and had to physically drag him back to prevent him from going to the aid of his deceased teammate. Russel slowed down too, too shocked at the violent demise of his comrade to heed the oncoming firestorm heading in his general direction. Ren pulled Russel out of the way, scant seconds before the ground where he stood went up in a cloud of dirt and stone.

Having stopped Cardin's initial suicidal reaction, Nora charged back into the kill zone. Running in zigzags, she slid down next to Weiss who had been dropped unceremoniously by Ren.

'Men,' Nora grinned as she carried Weiss up bridal style, 'can't do anything right.'

Weiss did not reply, her face was pale from pain. A few of her wounds had reopened, but it did not seem like she blamed Ren though. He had saved Russel after all.

Monty above these Faunus really wanted them dead.

She jumped into the train, and dropped Weiss to the ground. Pulling her behind as many boxes and physically possible, Nora hoped it would be enough to stop the bullets from tearing them apart. Weiss who was oddly silent throughout the entire ordeal, silently cycled the chambers of her weapon, as if she was going to fight the Bullhead head on.

Nora looked up from her cover and did a head count. Someone was missing.

Wait, where is…?

'Jaune!' Cardin roared.

Risking a glance, Nora's blood froze at the sight. Jaune was crouched over Blake, his shield deployed. Nora doubted it could hold up to the fury of twi linked chain guns, but his situation was clear. He was not abandoning Blake.

_Aw. Pancakes. _

'Yang?' She heard Weiss whisper.

'What is it?'

'Freezerburn.'

Rot Blackthorn switched off the Bullhead's thermal imaging. The black and white world vanished for a few seconds as the cameras powered down. The cockpit lit up as sunlight flooded back in through the armoured glass. The targets were out in the open, and he liked to see things detonate with his own eyes. The men and women in black uniforms scrambled for the safety of the train like rats when the Bullheads approached.

'Targets,' Blackthorn radioed to the other Bullheads, the din of the engines muffled by his earphones, 'firing cannons.'

The aircraft juddered violently as the cannons roared. The man vanished in a cloud of dust as the bullets chewed him to bits. Poor sod.

_Sorry kid, this is the battlefield. _

He did not wait for the dust to clear before swiveling his cannons to the others, huddled behind a train carriage. Not that it will do them much good.

'Targets behind carriage. Firing.'

The Bullhead juddered once again. The carriage crumpled under the relentless assault. The heavy bullets chewing through the metal hull like it was paper. He felt no joy, no elation when he squeezed the trigger. To Blackthorn, this monotonous task was just another day in the office. Bullheads are the angels if the sky, and without any anti-air capabilities, he was virtually untouchable.

'Hold fire, Blackthorn.' A voice, distorted by the radio snarled into his ear.

'Holding.'

The voice, although distorted by the radio, was recognizably Adam's.

'Package is in the carriage. Do not fire upon the carriage. We need the package in one piece.'

'Acknowledged.'

Blackthorn broke off in search of a new target. The other two Bullheads accompanying him banked down, their engines hissing and growling as red leaves swirled around. Unlike Blackthorn's Bullhead, they were not equipped with his lethal turrets. Instead, the entire midsections were hollowed out, magnetic clamps ready to lift and transport anything.

Which meant Blackthorn got to have all the fun.

There.

A man had dropped his female companion from his back. He was now shielding her with a….a shield?

Blackthorn smirked. Not much good that will do for the poor sod. He was out in the open and unmoving- such an easy target. Such idiocy begged for a few bullets in his body.

He aligned his aim, and began to squeeze the trigger.

Suddenly, the targets before him went up in a cloud of smoke.

_What the-?_

The train was now covered in thick smoke, obscuring his vision. The targetters went haywire as the computers searched desperately for a target.

_Clever little sods. _He had no idea how they did it, but it was impressive nonetheless. The engines were already blowing away the smoke, or was it fog?

Blackthorn grumbled, and switched on thermal imaging. The screen blinked black for a few seconds as the imaging powered up. The world in front of him was awash in white. White representing heat, and black, cold. Except there was little to no black on his screen.

Wait, what?

His aircraft juddered violently as the Bullhead jerked violently to the right. His camera refused to show anything but white. A glitch? An electronic weapon?

'Hit! I'm hit!' Blackthorn yelled into the mic. What the hell is happening?

He dismissed the camera. He needed to see with his own eyes what the situation was. Even if he did not see his targets, he knew their general location. He his cannons would rip them up and he would go back to the village and drink himself silly. That was the plan, until he saw the sight in front of him.

Blackthorn's heart stopped.

A massive man, barely into his adult years, was clinging to the front of his aircraft. His piercing blue eyes had a certain madness swirling them and his face was locked in a feral snarl. His brown hair blew wildly in the wind, and in that moment, Blackthorn knew he was fucked.

Cardin glared into the face of a particularly startled Faunus. The man had picked a bad time to untint his windows.

It was not his brightest plan, but he had seen Ruby do something similar. After all, who had not seen her decapitate a Nevermore in midair during initiation. But this time, it was Cardin's turn to hunt a bird of his own. Weiss's aim has been perfect. Say what you want about that snobbish bitch, the girl had skill.

He did not exactly think the plan through, and now he was clinging on for dear life on a gunship veering to throw him off.

Thank Monty for one of Russel's daggers, else he would have nothing to hold onto. His mace was magnetically clamped to his waist, and Cardin fully planned to use it to bring this aircraft down, one way or another. These fuckers killed two if his teammates, two of his friends. They injured his allies, and although he was not close to either teams, this ordeal has made him care about them. After all, they were in this together.

The White Fang will pay in blood.

He nearly lost his grip when the gunship spun, and it was only through sheer strength did Cardin keep his grip on the ship. The Bullhead twisted and turned, banked and rose as the pilot tried desperately to shake him off. He grinned at the panicked look on the pilot's face, and he unlatched his mace from his magnetic clamp.

Thumbing the activation of his weapon's power core, Cardin felt the familiar thrum as his weapon powered up.

He let out a savage laugh. Someone is about to have a very bad day.

The Bullhead's cockpit exploded in a shower of armoured glass and broken metal. Cardin felt his face burn as glass and several wet pieces of bone and flesh cut into his skin.

Pilotless, the aircraft veered off to the right, spinning out of control as it began its fast descent to its demise. Cardin was thrown like a rag doll into the air, several meters above the ground.

It was then Cardin realized a fatal flaw in his plan. He knew how to get up.

But he has no idea how to get down.

He was not keen on making a landing strategy as he was spinning like a top through the air off in a random direction. Perhaps a few fractured bones would remind the future Cardin of his idiocy, but for now, he is going to settle with screaming.

_Ah shit. This is going to suck. _

Of all the things Jaune thought he would be doing, being sent flying through the air by Weiss was not far down the list. He had admittedly been a pain the the girl's delicate backside for a very long time, so he was ready for the time when she snapped.

However, trying to catch his former bully in midair was not what he had in mind at all. Perhaps that was his semblance: the ability to hit and catch midair targets with the aid of physics and misfortune. First Ruby during her less than graceful disembarkation off and angry Nevermore. Then it was Weiss during her slightly more graceful disembarkation off an angry Nevermore. By some cruel twist of fate, this time it was Cardin's turn. It may not be a Nevermore but it was close enough. It's big, it's flying and it's ugly.

'J-Jaune?' Cardin gasped in disbelief as Jaune caught him neatly in midair with both his arms.

Despite being airborne, he sighed. With the voice of a defeated man, he replied. 'Don't mind me, just dropping in.'

'Oh you have to be fucking kidd-'

The rest was cut off as they plummeted towards the ground, and his words were replaced by screams.

At this point, Jaune did not even care. He had survived too many falls from high places thanks to unfortunate circumstances, he was certain this would not kill him.

However, the man weighing almost twice as much as he is might break his arms. Or legs. Or back, depending on where he landed.

He really didn't think this plan through.

Ren tore his eye away from the doomed men when the sounds of massive engines roared. The two remaining Bullheads were undeterred from the demise of their comrade.

Perhaps they thought nothing could harm them, or they just did not care. The pair banked down above the train, and felt the entire carriage juddered as the Bullhead's drew close.

He did not see, but rather heard and felt the impact of two magnetic clamps that adhered itself on the rooftop. Two metallic _gongs_, and his world started to shift. His balance was thrown off, and he landed painfully onto his bottom. Looking outside, he realized why. They were slowly being lifted off the ground.

_They are taking the compartment. _Ren realized. The White Fang could not drive them off the train, to take the package. So now they are taking the entire compartment instead.

Russel, having just dragged the barely moving Blake next to Weiss, was shaking. His eyes were akin to a cornered animal. He looked around, panic oozing off him, enough to make Ren gag. Weiss, Yang and even Nora looked unsettled and unsure. The same questions rand through their minds.

Where are they taking them? Should they jump off? What is going to happen to them?

'Fuck it.' He heard Russel say, 'I'm going to find Cardin and Jaune. I can't leave them like that.'

And just like that, he stepped off before anyone could stop him.

Ren swallowed, anger rising. They have three incapacitated people here and he decides to jump off? No doubt when they landed the White Fang is going to be over them like flies to shit, and Ren really doubted surrender is an option.

'Looks like it's just us.' Yang grumbled as she hugged the unconscious form of Ruby tightly. She swept the stray strands of hair off her sister's face, and sighed.

'Three incapacitated and three wounded,' Nora said, a slight shake in her voice. She did her best to look positive, and managed a weak smile, 'Now it's a fair fight?'

No one responded. Despite her efforts, the mood was heavy. Nora's huffed, her expression downcast.

Where ever they are going, they are probably not going to make it back. No doubt the Grimm are converging on Jaune and Cardin's position, Russel being there might elevate the pressure for them a little bit, but it is highly unlikely they will survive. The amount of negative energy surrounding the place must be astounding, so Ren would not be surprised if a huge group of Grimm showed up.

He felt Nora wrap her fingers around his. He squeezed her hand, and she returned to gesture. He was shaking. He was afraid. Nora was too, and he was sure so is everyone in this carriage.

Blake was already moving, albeit weak sluggishly. She was trying to sit herself up, but was failing miserably. Her Aura was already fighting back whatever affected her, and she was probably the least wounded out of them all. Ren himself could feel the fatigue gnawing at his bones, and his depth perception was utterly ruined. Nora probably could not swing her hammer as well as she could, and Weiss definitely needed a few hours for all the knife wounds to heal. Yang, though beaten a bloody, was the most powerful and active thanks to her semblance. Ruby was healing very fast, though not quickly enough. Her Aura is limited, but it seems it regenerates at a very fast rate, similar to her sister's. Her wounds had closed, and he could see some bones in her hips had healed. Give her a few hours and she would be up and fighting soon enough.

Problem is they did not have a few hours.

In their current state, they could fend off the less trained and less skillful White Fang grunts. But if any of the more senior members appeared, like Adam, they stood little chance.

He glanced over to the package. Whatever is inside, they wanted. Their mission was to guard the package.

If they were going to die, the last thing he was going to do is to deny them that objective. He made his way towards the metal box, stumbling as the carriage swayed and rocked in midair.

'Ren?' Nora asked.

He did not answer her. He began and shift the heavy box, his wounds sang as he exerted himself. Gritting his teeth, Ren pushed, edging the heavy metal box closer to the gap in the compartment.

If the White Fang were willing to commit such manpower to capture the contents of this box. It is vital to their operations and plans. The mission brief stated nothing on what was inside it, so it could be anything from irreplaceable technology to high yield explosives. Either ways, if it causes the White Fang any level of inconvenience, it should be done.

With one final heave, he pushed the box out of the carriage, and watched it plummet into the red trees below. He had a feeling he just threw away their only ticket out of the place.

'What now?' Yang asked, uncharacteristically quiet.

Ren did not have an answer.

….

Jaune groaned as he tried to sit up. His back hurt, his body ached, and it felt like the world weighed on him at this very moment. Pressing his hands to the floor, he pushed himself up, only to realize his body did not cooperate.

Oh no, had his luck finally run out? Did his many airborne shenanigans finally offend Monty as to finally punish him with crippling injury? He knew he played a dangerous game but the consequences is too much to swallow. He was paralyzed waist down!

'My hero.' Came a snide voice above, and the weight lifted from his body.

Or it could just be Cardin sitting on him. Jaune mentally kicked himself for jumping to conclusions. He nearly gave himself a heart attack.

Dense idiot.

Jaune sat up, and glared at Cardin. 'A 'thank you' would have been nice.'

'Thanks for saving my ass, Arc. Now don't let it get to you.'

'Suppose that's the best I could hope for.' Jaune snorted, 'anyways…'

'Anyway indeed.' Cardin looked around, as if just noticing he is in the middle of Forever Falls. The mild wind blew, sweeping up torrents of red leaves ever so slightly. For that moment, the world around did not exist. It was a moment of serenity.

A moment broken by a loud thud behind them.

The two boys turned, weapons drawn and at the ready.

'Wow wow wow! Friendly!' Russel waved his hands frantically as the weapons came within inches if his face.

'Russel? Where are the others?' Cardin asked, lowering his weapon.

Russel pointed up. The boys followed his finger, past the thick canopy of red leaves and into the sky. Two Bullheads, high up in the air, towed the train compartment along with powerful magnetic clamps. They were flying away, off into the mountains.

'You…left them?' Jaune asked cautiously.

'Couldn't leave you guys be, and besides,' Russel held out a hand to Cardin, 'my weapon.'

Cardin tossed the dagger, and Russel caught, a frown on his face. The dagger was slightly bent, and there was obvious damage on the edge. Russel did not comment. After all, it had punched through a Bullhead's armoured hull.

He sheathed his daggers, and with an extravagant flourish, he gestured towards the general direction of the Bullhead, 'Shall we?'

They started into the general direction of the Bullheads. The machines were already out of sight, obstructed by the thick branches and ever falling red leaves. However the engines could still be heard.

'I do not know where they are heading, though.' Russel confessed, 'Should they change their course, I won't know how to track them.'

'Cardin.' Jaune started, 'remember when we were flying through the air?'

'Which time?'

Jaune blinked, confused for a brief moment before catching Cardin's grin. Jaune chuckled, 'First time, when Weiss launched us.'

'What about it?'

'We saw a settlement of some sort, right?'

'And several dozen Grimm.' Cardin confirmed, 'You think they are heading there?'

Jaune nodded vigorously.

'Least we know what to expect.'

he village is most likely White Fang territory and is under their control, but that gave the more reason to go instead.

With half the surviving members injured and incapacitated, Jaune was not about to abandon them. Russel obviously jumped ship, and though Jaune was slightly angry at him for abandoning the others, he was glad. He doubted he can hold off as many Grimm as Cardin could.

'Why are you here, Russel?' Cardin asked, 'You should have stayed with the others. They definitely need you more than us.'

'Not happy to see me, boss? I'm hurt.'

'Just answer me, Russ.' Cardin sighed, wearily.

'Couldn't be separated from my 'dear leader' now can I?' He grunted, and strained a smile. Without waiting for a response, Russel jogged on ahead of Cardin and Jaune.

For a brief moment, Jaune wondered what had gotten into the mohawked man. He turned to Cardin for some enlightenment, but he found his answer as soon as he laid eyes on the big man's red rimmed eyes. Cardin shook his head and muttered, 'Thrush, you bastard,' and chased after his teammate.

His only surviving teammate.

The realization hit him like a truck. Blake and Ruby may yet recover, and Ren is at least still breathing. But the same could not be said for his former bullies. Jaune had always believed in karma, and during his time being kicked around by team CDRL he had often wished retribution on them one way or another. He had did not feel the slightest hint of guilt when Phyrra utterly decimated them during combat training.

But this? If karma is such a cruel mistress, he wished it did not exist at all. No one deserves such treatment. Especially not them.

Realizing he was falling slightly behind, Jaune quickened his pace, his heart heavier than it was a few moments ago.

...

**AN: WELL. Yea I vanished for a while. Things happened back home, and stuff and stuff. But I'm back now, right? Anyway, comment, critic, suggestion, anything! You get the drill!**


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